Living in a Shadow
by Oceanera12
Summary: Name's Nicole the Hedgehog. I'm a member of Team Sonic 2nd Generation. I've had an interesting life...I am a clone of Shadow the Hedgehog, so it's expected. But I never knew that the world would be placed in my hands. Death seems to follow me every where. Now 2nd Gen has to step out of the safety of our parent's shadows, or the world is doomed to utter destruction and defeat.
1. Chapter 1

**Umm...Hi! This is my first published Fanfic so bear with me please. I encourage you all to read the first few chapters before you quit on this story. It has a slow start. Thanks!**

**Few rules for reviews. Well actually there's only one. Please no cursing. I don't curse in the story, so you don't curse in the reviews. Personal opinion; Cursing is bad. Anyway, thanks for reading! Hope someone likes it...**

**Prologue**

It all started when Eggman was attacking the capital and Team Sonic was sent to stop him.

"Shadow, watch where you are throwing those things!" Sonic shouted has several chaos spears whizzed over his head.

The black and red hedgehog just scowled. "If you don't like them then I can just leave you with the 500 foot flying battleship armed with impenetrable shields and highly advanced weaponry."

Sonic stopped running and glared him.

"He's got a point," a metallic voice said in his ear.

"Shut it Tails. You just get 'tea time' to the drop off point."

Up in the Tornado 2, Tail's sighed loudly. "I guess I deserve that."

"Tails! Watch where you're flying!"

The fox pulled up on the joy-stick just before the plane crashed into the giant fortress that was blasting away at the world below.

"Thanks Amy."

"Stop talking; keep flying." The pink hedgehog stood and climbed up on the plane. She readied herself to jump down on to the nearing ground. "Just stay safe and don't die!"

"I'll keep that in mind Amy."

"I was talking to her!" Amy jumped and summersaulted to the battlefield with her hammer swinging.

Meanwhile across the battlefield a certain bat and echidna were having their own problems.

"Rouge! Little help!" Knuckles yelled as he dodged several missiles from a certain robot.

"Kind of busy here myself, sweetheart."

"Don't call me that!"

Tails came over the intercom. "Tea time has landed, I repeat, tea time has landed."

Every single Mobian pushed the talk button, "Shut it Tails!"

Tails pulled out the radio and rubbed his ear. "Why do I do this?" he asked himself out loud.

Sonic and Shadow zipped and spin-dashed through the robot's on the ground with Amy, while Rouge, Knuckles and Tails monitored the sky.

A nearby news reporter updated.

"All of Team Sonic and Team Dark are having trouble with Eggman's latest weaponized ship. Times Square has been completely evacuated as the desperate attempt to stop the evil scientist commences. It appears has if the force field is too strong for even Shadow the Ultama- AHHH!"

That last part was because at that moment the Ultimate life form crashed about five feet from the reporter.

He stood up and growled, "I hate machines." Shadow froze when he saw the news crew. "_What the heck _are you doing here!? Everyone is supposed to be-" he cut off and pushed his radio into his ear. "What in the-?" The hedgehog's face went pale. He spun around and yelled to the reporter and camera man, "Get down!"

Shadow grabbed both of their arms and shoved them to the ground just as an explosion rocketed through the air and Eggman's ship exploded. The sound carried out for miles has the fireball fell to the earth.

After the dust cleared, Miss Jane Michaels, the reporter, stood up and gazed across the broken city. "You…you…you did it!" She grabbed the camera boy and yanked him to his feet. "Team Sonic has won! Eggman is defeated! (hopefully for good.) Well update you as soon as we can. Signing off for now! We won!"

The camera's light went off and the Miss M. jumped for joy. She whirled around, "How did you do it? You were all out here and…" the reporter trailed off.

Shadow was staring at the wreckage. His face was twisted in agony. Slowly, he breathed in then out. On the inside he was screaming, on the outside…sulking. "We weren't all out here…there was someone on the inside."

Miss Jane stared. "Do you want elaborate on that?"

Shadow turned around slowly. "_No. _And _you_ don't repeat that. _Ever."_ The hedgehog turned around and walked off, teleporting after 25 feet.

Michaels stared at the spot. "Well…that went well…I guess…" She grabbed her microphone and waited for the welcome news.

**One Year Later**

"I'm standing outside the Times Square Chapel where we gather to celebrate not one, not two, but three newlyweds! On this momentous anniversary of Dr. Eggman's defeat, it is only fitting that this day be known for the marriage of our heroes." Miss Jane cleared her thoughts and turned towards the chapel doors that were creaking open as she spoke. "And here comes the first happy couple, Miles 'Tails' Prower and his new wife Alyssa Prower!"

The yellow fox lead the red-orange fox to the waiting limo. The gathered humans and friends threw rice at the happy couple. Only a few noticed the sad smile on Tails face which was equally shown on his wife's face.

"And the next couple is-"

The reporter was cut off as a gust of wind raced by. Sonic the hedgehog stopped at the limo turned around and yelled at the crowd, "I don't know what I'm thinking…but wouldn't have it any other way." He put down his new wife who was wearing a simple but elegant wedding dress and opened the door for her. Amy squealed and got in the limo and was quickly joined by Sonic.

Jane patted down her skirt. "Right…anyway. And our last newly wedded heroes are none other than…" She turned towards the door. "Where'd they go?"

Everyone looked around, but no one could find the missing couple. Only Shadow noticed the familiar silhouettes of a certain bat and ant-eater sneaking into the limo. He allowed a small smile as his old partner and her husband got into the limo without anyone spotting them. "Some things never change," he mumbled to himself.

Without warning the limo drove away leaving a befuddled crowd of wedding guests behind. In the limo, Sonic, Amy, Tails, Alyssa, Knuckles, and Rogue all burst out laughing. Back at the chapel, Shadow chuckled to himself, "What do you know? Faker actually married Rose, Tails found a nice fox, and Rouge somehow convinced Knuckles to marry her. Not bad…"

"Not bad indeed."

The hedgehog whirled around. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Whoa…no need for that," a man in a suit stepped forward. He had sandy brown hair that was starting to gray with pale skin that looked like it didn't see enough sun. "Hello Shadow. My name is Professor Roberts. I was hoping I could talk to you. I work for an organization called Progressive Experiments and we were wondering if you would be interested in-"

"I don't think so."

"Would you let me finish?

"No."

The professor continued anyway. "We were wondering if it would be alright if you would allow us to get some samples of your DNA. I searched into 'Project Shadow' and discovered that you were originally made to make an antidote for an illness that I believe a certain girl on the ARK had."

Shadow tried not to throw a chaos spear at the professor. "First he ignores my request and now he mentions Maria. Who does this guy think he is?" the Ultimate thought.

"I believe your DNA also has the ability to unlock the cure to many other diseases such as cancer. The world would be very grateful for you contribution. What do you think?"

Shadow rolled his eyes. "No…now if you don't mind I need to make it to a wedding reception for five fri-…alli-…acquaintances of mine." He spun around and began to walk away.

"Shadow, wait!"

Shadow almost ignored him. Almost. There was something in his voice that stopped him. _"What?"_

Roberts took a deep breath. Those eyes disturbed him. "It's…it's my daughter. She was just diagnosed with brain cancer. There is no cure. She's only twelve. I think the cure lies with your DNA. Please…I'll do anything to save my sweet Marie…"

Shadow groaned. Of course he had a personal reason…and to make things worse the kids name was _Marie_… "_Fine_," the hedgehog said through gritted teeth.

Prof. Roberts looked up with a hopeful look in his eyes. "You will?"

"_Yes_."

The scientist looked like he could hug the hedgehog.

Shadow stepped away just in case. "But you owe me. _Big time."_

"Oh yes! Yes! I will personally be there to help at any time; anyplace. Thank you! Thank you! Come by my office tomorrow at nine and we can talk details! Oh, thank you! Thank you, Shadow!" the man turned away and looked as though he was walking on air.

Shadow watched him go and then glanced at his watch. "Shoot." He took off towards the reception that he was now late for. "Rouge is gonna kill me," he thought. The hedgehog then thought back to the new Professor and the agreement. For some reason Shadow felt like this was one of the best decisions he had ever made…he just wasn't sure why…

**Cheer! Prologue's done! Hope you enjoyed. Review or don't, your choice. Let me know what you think and if there is anything I need to do better at. Thanks! By the way, it's rated K+ only because there is a little violence and some sad parts. I hope I don't make anyone cry too much...you'll see... review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Almost didn't post this, but I'll keep going. oh by the way thanks Shadowsthebest for the review. Hope I get more. Okay here's where it get's confusing. I thought up so many ways I could introduce 2nd Generation but this one was one of the simpler ways and easier ones to follow. Okay. Oh and I forgot the disclaimer. I don't own any of the original Sonic the Hedgehog characters (although I wish I did) they belong to SEGA but all the other characters are mine. This chapter is shorter, but it helps you understand a few things...well not really. first fic so bear with me. sorry if you get confused. leave something in the review and I'll explain it better next update. anyway...**

**Years later**

_Location: GUN Facility, Station Square_

_Time: 23:53_

The guards were doing their regular sweeps and didn't think the night would be any different than any other. Many were asleep on the job while others just talked. None of them noticed the shadowy figure that sneaked past them.

The stranger flipped up on to the raptors and crouched down as two guards walked by. They couldn't help but hear the conversation.

"Yeah, I remember when the kids were born. They looked so cute and harmless."

"Harmless! I took one look at Jr and thought, 'Not another one!'"

The two guards laughed. "Yeah and that little hedgehog inherited all of his Dad's attributes. His sister on the other hand…"

"Let's not talk about that hammer-swinging little devil Annie! She would kill her twin brother if her mother allowed it."

The hidden figure shook their head in disgust. "Move on already…" they thought grudgingly

Unsurprisingly, they didn't hear the stranger's thoughts, let alone see them. The conversation continued.

"Those Prower girls are nice though. Cosmo's a little two nice at certain points…"

"She got her Mom's heart…pity about what happened to their Mom. I heard she died in a plane crash."

"The plane was actually designed by the yellow fox himself. I think he blames himself."

"How could he? The plane was struck by lightning…it didn't have a chance."

"One reason he's so hard on Miley, poor thing. I swear she is the smartest thing I've ever seen but does Miles know? Not at all, he keeps her in the shop working on small projects."

The sneaker sighed softly and shifted slowly has the guards continued talking.

The first guard shook his head, "What about the bat girl? She's a little bag of trouble."

"I'll say. Didn't Topaz rob three jewelry stores last week alone?"

"Nope. She robbed five."

Guard number two stared at the other. "Her parents cannot be happy with her, although their son is a bit of a disappointment as well."

"He came here last week trying to hide from his Echidna duties. Poor Arnold…he wants adventure, not guard experience."

"Can't blame him…this job is so boring!"

"You're new, aren't you?"

"Yeah why?"

"You weren't here for that protest against the Ultimate's, were you? That was the scariest thing I've ever experienced. You would think that mob wanted to kill a five-time murderer of five good presidents, not two little girls."

The figure tensed up and pushed them self into the shadows even deeper.

The guards lowered their voice. "So it is true? Shadow really does have…?"

"Yes, but I think he hates them. I've never seen anyone push a kid so hard…"

"How in the world did they even come about?"

"I've only heard rumors but I know Arianna was an accident…something about DNA getting switched around in the basement. Anyway, by the time they figured out they had the wrong tube she was born. Nicole is another story. This scientist, name's Martha Anderson, she wanted to study the manipulating of DNA to make something else. Ari's was done on accident. Nicole was on purpose. Anderson did it illegally. I'm surprised she didn't get fired, but she's not allowed to have access to any cloning equipment anymore. So within five years after donating DNA for medical reasons only, Shadow suddenly has two partial clones to worry about."

"That's weird…but didn't Shadow ignore the clones for a while."

"Unfortunately, those girls' had normal lives until they were eight and ten, then they were thrown into training to save the world. It was the only way to appease the protestors…well most of them. We still got that group who is trying to kill Nicole."

"That never made sense to me. Ignore the first clone because it was an accident, but kill the second. It doesn't make any sense…"

"Rumor has it that Nicole doesn't have super speed…but she does have chaotic abilities; at least two times more than Shadow. That's why they want her dead."

"Poor thing…"

The guards walked on to the next sector.

The figure jumped down into the light. The black and red hedgehog stood up and looked around. She was wearing a black short-sleeved hoodie with long black pants. Her utility belt held a two guns and a small combat knife. Combat boots were placed upon her feet while infer red goggles with black frames held her red hair back from her face. The hair was cut tom toby style (? I don't know what the really short haircut for girls is called. I like it, but I don't know what it's called) and her black gloves had a small ring over each wrist (inhibitor rings). The girl looked back to where the guards had walked out.

"I don't need your sympathy," Nicole the hedgehog growled. She walked over to a nearby door and entered as quietly as possible.

**Nicole is the main character and some chapters will be from her point of view. Thought I should point that out. You'll get to know her better latter on. Sorry there's no action in this chapter, but there will be some next time. This is more of an informative chapter then anything else but you'll thank me later. Anyway...please leave a review or questions! I need to know if you like it or not because I don't want to waist anytime on something that no one likes...I could be on youtube or netflix! ;) JK. I love doing this and I hope someone loves it as much as I do. tell me what you think please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so I know I promised some action, but it's more like training. Thank you to all of those who reviewed! It really made my day. Oh and Christian Ape99, I'll explain the whole gender switch thing later. Maybe in this chapter…maybe later on; I don't know exactly. Anyway…on to the story!**

POV: Nicole

I tiptoed across the floor, praying that no one would hear me…

"Where have you been young lady?" Martha stepped out from the corner of the main room. She flipped on a light and raised an eyebrow at my appearance. "And why are you wearing all black?"

I sighed. Technically, I didn't have a mother…but Martha certainly acted like one at certain points.

In a sarcastic voice I responded quickly, "I was training. What do you think I was doing?"

Martha sighed and placed her hands on her hips. She flipped her long brown hair out of her face. If I had a nickel for every time she did that…maybe she should start tying her hair back. I shook my head…focus. That's what Shadow always yelled at me for. I didn't focus.

"Young lady, you're not to be sneaking off GUN grounds. You know what people would do to you if-"

"I don't care! If they caught me, then I would finally be free from worry. Worry of getting shot at, worry of getting a bomb in a package, or worrying that someone would put a bomb under my lunch table."

"Now that was not my fault. You're lucky you survived that."

"Thirteen others died! Do you know what that is like! People I don't know get killed because of me! I don't want that to happen to you, to Ari, or anyone!" I breathed deeply.

Anderson folded her arms. "Nor do I, but I don't want to see you get hurt…that's why you need to stay here."

I threw my arms in the air. "You don't get it do you?! I am a prisoner! A slave! I don't get to make my own choices! I _have_ to use my abilities! I'm not saying I never wanted that! But I don't want to be him!" I pointed at the picture of my 'father' on the wall. "He treats me like I'm a rock that needs to be smashed. I want to help people, I really do. But he forces it on me, and then pretends I don't exist! If he wants me to save the world, then why can't I go on team missions, and don't you say they don't exist!" I pointed a finger at my caretaker.

Martha closed her already opening mouth.

"I know they exist! That's why I leave! Miley is the same way, ever since her Mom died. She understands me and treats me like a normal person, not some copy of Shadow. She's my best friend and the only way I can see her is if I sneak off! Don't take one of my true pleasures in life, please!"

We sat in silence for several minutes. Martha stared at me with a neutral expression. I looked around the room. It was pretty big, about the size of Miley's living room. Off to the right there was a door that led to a decent sized kitchen. To the left was the hall where Arianna's room was along with mine. On the furthest wall of the room was a large TV and a couch was in the middle. The walls and floor were a plain white, while the furniture was an ugly green. _Whoever decorated this place did an awful job. Just look at that couch it looked as though-focus Nikki. Keep your head in the game._

Martha finally broke the silence. "You're right."

I crossed my arms. "Gee, you think?"

The scientist frowned. "Bed. Now."

I turned to go then paused and looked back. "You aren't going to tell are you?"

"I will if you don't get to bed right now young lady. Now shoo!"

I smiled then ran to my room and shut the door. I leaned against the door and slid down. "Oh what am I doing wrong?" I asked aloud. My room was one of the more comforting places I hung out in. The walls were a dulled red with a black stripe in the middle of the wall running all the way around. I had a canopy bed in the center, black sheets with red curtains. I _wonder_ who chose those colors…

I grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at the wall. "Ugh!"

Flopping down on the bed I stared at the ceiling. "Miley, you there?"

A small metallic voice responded from the radio on my desk. "Yeah, what took you so long? Did you get caught?"

"Yes, no thanks to you."

"For the last time, I'm sorry. I didn't know what time it was."

"Just teasing you. See you tomorrow…hopefully. Night."

"Goodnight, Nicole." The radio went dead.

I rolled over on my bed and turned on the side lamp on the bedside table (black). Quickly and quietly, I walked over to the closet and pulled out my most favorite thing in the whole world; my silver guitar, capable of being electric, acoustic and a few other modes. I sighed and sat on the bed. After a few minutes I had tuned and started strumming an old song that I had come up with a while back.

**(Authors note: Okay, I know what you're all thinking. "No! Not one of these stories!" Well relax, I'm just going to tell you the song title and who actually wrote it. Go look it up on YouTube if you want to hear the whole song but I refuse to type out all of those lyrics. Especially since I don't have all the songs I'm going to use completely memorized. I may type out a certain part of the song, because it's important to the story. So relax. Also, I don't own any rights of this song or songs to come. I am just including them. Back to Nikki…)**

Song: Breakaway Author (or singer whatever): Kelly Clarkson

_I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly_

_I'll do what it takes, till I touch the sky_

_I gotta, make a wish, take a chance, make a change_

_And Breakaway._

I sung softly as the clock hit one. Arianna always told me my voice was like an angel singing someone to heaven, but I didn't agree completely. Music was one of my found joys in life, but I didn't think I was that good. I also didn't think Shadow would approve… My voice faltered. _Don't think of him; think of Arianna, think of Miley, think of anything but him. _But I couldn't help it. My mind wandered to today's practice.

"_Nicole, focus. You aren't even trying!" Shadow threw an especially large chaos spear at me._

_Ducking and scampering, I ran around trying to not get hit. True those things couldn't kill me, but they sure hurt! "I am trying! You just aren't letting me get very far!" I jumped up onto one of the many beams that were placed around the room. For a training room, it seemed more like a giant playground with missiles and bullets._

_Shadow just scowled and threw even more chaos spears._

_I just jumped and flew around to dodge. In a matter of seconds, Shadow teleported directly behind me and hit me directly in the spine. I cried out and dropped about twenty feet to the ground._

_He landed next to me. "Focus! That's your problem!"_

_I groaned and sat up. "Well you play dirty."_

_My mentor attempted to punch me in the face, but I simple teleported out of reach. "And did I mention your moves are super repetitive. 'Chaos Spear!' Wouldn't it be easier to not let your enemies know what you are gonna do? I mean I just say it in my mind and I know you can so why do you yell it at the top of your lungs? Seriously…I know I don't have super speed, but that doesn't mean I'm slow to pick up on things and you just seem to love to yell."_

_Shadow scowled then vanished._

_I rolled my eyes. "Where'd he go this time?" I mumbled to myself._

_As soon as I said those words I felt a hand on my shoulder and something placed against my head. "Right behind you, and if this was real life you'd be dead." Shadow removed the gun from the side of my head then whacked me from the beam I was sitting on. I fell and hit the ground…again._

_Shadow teleported down next to me and leaned over. In a quiet whisper that sent shivers up my spine, "You can't focus, that's your problem. It doesn't matter if you can throw a chaos spear, do chaos control, or fly. You can't save the world without focus!"_

_He shook his head in disgust. "I have training with your sister. At least someone focuses." Shadow turned and disappeared._

_I sat up and rubbed my head, all the while trying to swallow the emotions that flooded into my chest._

The song ended and I shook my head. "What am I doing wrong?" I whispered to myself once again. Slowly, I placed my guitar down and laid back on the bed with my thoughts. The last thing that I thought before sleep claimed my mind was, "Wonder what Team Sonic is doing tomorrow…" I drifted off to sleep.

**Sorry, but I know I can promise some explosions next chapter. I think I portrayed Shadow pretty good, but tell me what you think in the reviews. I'm going to warn you all though, next chapter may take a lot longer. I'll upload ASAP, but it may be a while. In the meantime, r &amp; r. Thanks to everyone who have actually given this thing a chance.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone. I was typing all of last night and every second I could today and I finally finished this chapter. It's a little long...but I wanted to get this over with. Please don't hate me! Reviews are welcomed and THANK YOU to all of those who already have reviewed. Read on...if you dare...not really, but seriously, don't hate me. Please!**

Nicole's POV:

It had been almost two weeks since I had talked with Martha _really _early in the morning…and things were just the same. Training for about ten hours with an hour lunch break somewhere in the middle, and Shadow criticizing me every second he could. That guy can get mad real easily…trust me. Anyway, I guess everything started going south when Shadow had insisted Arianna and I had a training session together.

Now I know that sounds normal to most people, but he never wanted us in the same room while training. It was like he didn't want us to know how well the other one was doing…which I later found out that was the exact reason…but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Arianna and I arrived in the training room exactly five minutes before six in the morning. We had already had breakfast and started stretching. I was wearing my standard outfit: a red and black t-shirt and red jeans and black combat boots with the ever present infer-red goggles on my head and the two inhibitor rings on my wrists. The goggles are kind of an inside joke with my sister. She wears these high-tech blue goggles that allow her to scan random objects, see heat sources, etc. I had the same exact model, just red. We always wear them no matter where we are going. It always drove Shadow crazy…I'm off subject again…aren't I?

Anyway…Arianna was always changing styles so I never knew what to expect from her. That morning, she was wearing some faded jeans with a pink T-top and some white tennis shoes. Unlike Shadow (and, I've been told, me) Ari was a very gentle, loving girl who could comfort and befriend pretty much everyone. Also, she never required inhibitor rings because of her weakened chaotic energy. So what surprised me that day was she was actually wearing her rings/bracelets. Seriously, why are they called inhibitor 'rings?' We wear them on our wrists for Pete's sake! I mean, wouldn't you call them-off subject again. Sorry.

Okay…so we were stretching and having our daily talk about our training, last night's dreams, and whatever else popped in our heads. Suddenly, Shadow just appeared out of thin air. Arianna jumped in surprise, while I just stood there. He always pulled that trick on me (and often added a punch or kick at me) and it always drove me insane.

"Alright! Both of you, up on the balancing platform and show me what you got!" our mentor shouted.

Yep. Normal day…that is until about nine when Shadow got a call from Sonic. He pulled out his phone and flipped it open. "This better be important Faker. I'm busy."

Ari and I froze in the middle of our sparing match and glanced over in curiosity.

Shadow listened to the blue hedgehog then sighed. "And why do you need me for that? …Of course they requested all of us…I'll be over in a minute." He slipped the phone in his pocket. "Continue."

Shadow's 'minute,' is more like thirty minutes. By the time we finished our sparing, almost half an hour had passed. Half way through the session, Arianna had excused herself to go help Martha with something so I was left in the torture camber with Mr. Cheerful.

Shadow looked at me grudgingly after a really bad match on my part. "Work on that. I have to go." He turned on the spot and vanished.

I looked around the room and frowned. "Yeah, right," then whirled around and teleported back to my room. I grabbed the small black radio and plopped on my bed. "Miley, are you there?"

No reply from the device.

I leaned back and pulled up the guitar. "Might as well work on something," I mumbled to no one in particular. I had had an idea circling my mind for a little while now and begun to write down some chords when suddenly,

"BOOM!"

A muffled explosion rang out. I jumped up then cursed myself. _"Someone is probably testing that new rocket launcher across the lot,"_ I thought. Only a few minutes passed when my phone went off. I groaned and glanced at the caller ID. _Shadow the Hedgehog_. I jumped up and scrambled for the phone. "Hello?"

Shadow's voice growled back at me. "Took you long enough; Arianna wasn't answering. Go find her then teleport to Angel Island. Grab whatever you need then leave, because you aren't coming back for a long time."

I frowned. "Why? What's going on?"

"Just do it!" the phone went dead.

I shrugged then walked out of the room. I walked down to Anderson's lab. Placing my ID card in the slot, the computer accepted the code then began opening the sliding doors.

"Ari we have to go. Shadow's or-" I stopped. The lab was trashed. DNA samples lay broken across the floor. File cabinets were overturned with the files streaming out. The room was in complete chaos. I swallowed slowly. "Ari?" No answer. I looked around and was suddenly filled with a fearful desire to leave as quickly as possible. I whirled around and chaos controlled to my room and packed a quick suitcase. I placed my guitar and music in the specially designed case that could shrink at will. Quickly, I placed the now miniature guitar in my suitcase then zipped it shut. Now a little frantic I was about to teleport when a sudden explosion rang out, much louder than the first one. _"That came from inside."_ Sirens blared and soldiers ran in line down the halls. I ran out of the room and sprinted down the hall into the kitchen.

Martha was on the floor from the shock wave. "Nicole! What are you still doing here? I got a text from Shadow that you were going to Angel Island!"

I stared at her blankly. "Shadow texts?"

"Nicole! Focus!"

"Sorry…I just find that a little amuse-"

One look from Anderson and I shut up.

She got up and brushed herself off. "Somethings happened, not sure what but I know it's not good. You need to leave now. We'll be okay."

I shook my head. "I'm not leaving you here!"

The scientist shook her head. "Yes you are."

"But-"

"No. Now listen here Nikki. I made you to help people true, but I also made you to help someone who needs you just as much as you need them. You need to go. You'll save the world, but it's not you're time to save this facility. Now go!"

"But-"

"GO!" Anderson pushed me down the hall as explosions filled my ears. Soldier's shouts of terror filled the air and several screams were silenced as the explosions grew closer. Martha pushed me in my room and slammed the door. "Get out. NOW!"

I shoved down the tears that were threatening to fall and whispered through the door. "Thank you Martha. I won't let you down."

I almost thought I heard her reply back, "I know you won't."

The front door was blasted off its hinges and Martha's battle cry rang out. Those sounds were the last thing I heard as I teleported away.

I landed on Angel Island with my suitcase. Shadow grabbed my arm immediately and dragged me away from the edge. "You're late."

"Nice to see you to," I mumbled under my breath.

Shadow just glared at me. "Where's Arianna?"

"Um…I don't know."

He gave me the explain-or-I'll-kill-you look.

"She wasn't at the facility. I scanned like ten times. No trace of her energy…at all. All I found was…"

"What?"

"Um…that lab she said she was going to be at. It's completely trashed. Like someone came and put a bomb in it or something."

Shadow stopped and looked at me. He frowned and let me go. "I'll go check it out. You join the other kids at Sonic's house. I'll be back as soon as I can."

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah…that may not be a good idea."

The hedgehog glared at me. "Why not?" he growled

Gulping down my fear I breathed deeply and launched into a quick explanation. "Um…someone-was-attacking-the facility-and-I-wanted-to-stay-and-help-really,-But-Anderson-made-me-leave-her-behind-and-I-think-that-everyone-may-be-getting-killed-because-someone-wants-me-dead-and-I-"

Shadow held up his hand. "Stop talking. Go to the house. I'll be back."

The hedgehog vanished.

Running through the forest, I was trying to process what exactly was going on. Shadow was acting way grumpier then usual and actually seemed a little…scared? No way, this is Shadow he doesn't get scared, maybe angry and obnoxious, but _not_ scared…right? I gulped and picked up the pace. When I reached the blue hedgehog's house I was out of breath.

"I really need to do some more running…" I grumbled.

Unfortunately, someone heard me. Jr came running out of the house and attempted to knock me over. I jumped up and flipped avoiding the blue blur by mere milliseconds. Jr skidded to a stop. "Aw man…I thought you were Ari. She's easy to get."

I scowled at him. "You know…you are _way_ slower than a certain other blued hedgehog I know."

Jr scowled back at me. He really wasn't, but he didn't need to know that. Jr looked exactly like his dad with the attitude and ego problems included. In fact, the only way you could really tell them apart was the shoes. Sonic always had his signature red and white sneakers while Jr preferred these shoes that Cosmos had designed; gray with white stripes. Other than that…like father like son.

His twin sister, Annie, came running out with a hammer drawn. "Jr, we're supposed to stay in here, Shadow's orders! Are you dumb or just disobeying?"

I smiled. "I think a little bit of both."

Jr glared at me, but the glare quickly turned to a look of panic as Annie threw her hammer in his direction. He yelped and dodged as the hammer hit the ground and exploded.

Annie pulled out a circle about three inches in diameter from her belt. She pressed the button on the back and a hammer expanded from the circle. "You made me waist my last exploding hammer!" She lunged at her brother. Annie had her mother's temper and her strength. She favored wearing long gray pants under a short blue dress with gray shoes and the signature of the family; white gloves. Her hair reached down to the middle of her upper arm and her bangs pushed out of her eyes. Her belt that she wore over her dress had been made of several circles that supplied her hammers. The belt was a third birthday present from Tails. I don't know who thought it was a good idea.

I always assumed the long-term goal of these fifteen year old twins was to see who could kill the other. Annie was trying to smash her brother to a pulp when Arnold and Topaz came out to watch.

Arnold, who was about two months older than the troublesome twosome, was wearing brown hiking boots and a light brown cowboy vest with strips of leather hanging on the front and back. This echidna, unlike his father, had no interest in guarding any gems of any sort. Arnold was more intent on reading adventure stories and trying to have his own story to write. Unfortunately, he never got very far, what with his father and all. No matter how hard he tried, Knuckles wouldn't let his son get away for long.

Arnold leaned up against the house and crossed his arms. "Are those two at it again?"

His little sister nodded. "No surprise there Arnold,' Topaz hovered about a foot off the ground and watched the action.

Topaz was one of the biggest jewel thief's in the country. Although, since she was only fourteen, she couldn't be tried as an adult. She wore a short pink dress with a long sleeved white shrug (it zipped up in the front. Not sure what those are called…) that reached down to the middle of her lower arm over it and white gloves. Her boots were pink over white and she always seemed to wear some sort of make-up. Today, it was pink eyeshadow with some light pink lipstick. Yep…mother's girl if I ever saw one.

I rolled my eyes. "Jr and Annie should just duel to the death, then we won't have this mess to deal with."

Arnold glanced at me. "Oh great…it's mini-Shadow."

I really wanted to punch him, but one look at his hands and I reconsidered. Before I could decide, Miley decided to join us outside.

"She's not a mini-Shadow, Arnold. For one; she's a girl!"

Topaz rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I never got that. Why is that?"

Sigh. "Cloning is a complicated process. You can never make a perfect clone; there will always be a flaw. One way to help in the process is switch the gender. It helps become more stable and more likely to survive the process. Does that make any sense?" If I had a nickel for every time I had to explain that…

"Not really." Arnold replied. The two siblings went back to watching the twins fight.

Miley grabbed my arm and gently pulled me inside. "Ignore them. They don't want to understand."

I nodded then sat down on the nearest chair. "What is going on? Shadow called me and then GUN was attacked and-"

"GUN was attacked?"

"Long story. What happened here?"

Miley shifted in her chair. The yellow fox seemed to be in love with brown since the day I met her. Her standard outfit was a light brown t-shirt, dark brown shorts with a brown piece of fabric tied over them, brown lace up shoes, an unbuttoned dark brown trench coat that reached her knees, light brown fingerless gloves, a piece of light brown leather tied around her wrist with a piece of twine to make some sort of bracelet, and her aviator goggles placed upon her head (brown straps with blue lenses). She had long white hair that went a little past her waist and long white bangs that covered the left side of her face. I always teased her about only being able to see with one eye, but she just told me to take off my goggles for a day, then report back to her. The jokes stopped pretty quickly. Some of them were pretty good though. I always said if she forgot to move her hair when she put her goggles she would….sorry off subject.

My best friend sighed. "I'm not exactly sure. All I really know is that it was supposed to be a simple mission. First Generation was called for some sort of rescue mission at an old chemical factory. There had been an accident and there were still some workers inside. They were then supposed to help clean up. That was about an hour ago. Well fifteen minutes ago, the chemical factory, blew up!"

"What!?"

"Well, it didn't exactly blow up. More like a giant shock wave ripped through the area. It didn't knock down the building or anything, just sent this giant bubble of energy throughout the area."

"Okay…then what?"

"That's where I got. Jr, Annie, Arnold, Topaz and I went down to see how everyone was. We didn't even get half way when Shadow showed up and teleported us back to the island. He' a real jerk at certain points, you know that?"

I shrugged. "You get used to it. What about Cosmo?"

Miley frowned. "She's still at the shop. She didn't want to come to the factory."

Cosmo was the oldest of second generation and by far one of the kindest. It was no surprise when the Ari and she became best friends. Sixteen years old, Cosmo usually wore a dark blue skirt with a light blue stripe down the middle, a dark blue t-shirt, light blue and white tennis shoes, light blue fingerless gloves and her mother's golden heart locket. Unlike her sister, she delighted in making small projects.

Miley on the other hand was tired of doing all the dirty work and wanted to actually build something bigger. She had been secretly working on a biplane with her sister for the past three months and it was almost finished. I had never seen Miley so excited about anything in her life.

"Does Shadow know that she's not here?"

"I think so…maybe not. Oh man I am so dead if he doesn't know that."

I rolled my eyes. "Where's your father?"

Miley shrugged.

"He's with the others duh," Jr said as he walked in with the other kids. Annie looked exhausted from chasing her brother.

Miley rolled her eyes. Then turned to Topaz, "Who won?"

She smiled. "Jr. By seconds. So I believe you owe me five dollars."

Miley shook her head. "Nope. I bet that Jr would lose after three minutes and you bet Annie would lose in three minutes. It's been five min. Sorry Topaz."

The bat crossed her arms. "Dang it…"

Everyone started laughing…until Shadow marched in. The room fell silent.

"This is no laughing matter! Now all of you! You are not to leave this island…ever. I just put up the energy field so nothing can get in and hopefully out. Now all of you need-"

"Wait. We can't leave!" Arnold did not look happy…at all.

"What part of that was unclear? No leaving, no contact, no nothing. You can go anywhere on the Island and do whatever you want but you have to train for at least two hours a day." Shadow paused and pointed at me. "You have to train for at least four."

"Oh come on!"

"No but's Nicole! You and Miley both! No joking around! All of you!" He took a deep breath.

Miley raised a tentative hand. "Um…where are Arianna and Cosmo?"

Shadow glared at her. "I don't know."

Topaz started laughing then quickly stopped when she saw Shadow's face. "Wait, you're serious?"

"_What part of no joking around do you not understand?" _Shadow hissed.

Everyone but me took a step away from him.

The emo hedgehog took another deep breath. "You will train, occasionally have a class on some technique or gadget, and then you'll have all the free time in the world. Do you understand?"

Junior raised his hand. "So Mr. In Charge…did our parents give permission for this? Whose idea was it? Is this some sort of training exercise?"

Shadow didn't say anything. He walked over to the window and stared out at the forest.

I'm not sure who was more surprised; me, Miley, or 2nd Gen. We all sat in silence for about three minutes. Annie finally broke the silence.

"So…where are our parents?"

Shadow looked at her then looked back out the window. I blinked then stood up. I thought I had seen something in his eyes, but I wasn't sure.

I walked over and stood behind him. "Shadow? Is something wrong?"

My mentor turned around and looked me directly in the eye. There was defiantly something wrong with his eyes. "They're gone."

Topaz looked confused. "Who's gone?"

"Your parents."

Jr shook his head. "Dad told me he wasn't taking Mom to Hawaii for another month."

"Not on vacation! They're gone!"

Mileys eyes grew wide. "You don't mean they're…" she trailed off not wanting to say the word.

Arnold shook his head. "It's Team Sonic they can't die."

In that moment I realized what was wrong with Shadow. His eyes looked sorrowful.

I placed my hand over my mouth. "No way…they cannot be dead…"

Without a word, Shadow looked over second generation. "I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything. They're gone."

Annie turned pale. "They can't be…"

"Dead! Well, news flash Annie, they're gone! Dead! No more First Generation! You're on your own now! So if you want to leave the island, be my guest! But don't come haunting me in my dreams if you suffer the same fate they did!" Shadow breathed heavily.

No one moved. We were in too much shock.

"What about Arianna and Cosmo?" I whispered.

"I don't know. I didn't see any bodies, but there were signs of a struggle in Tail's workshop and at GUN. I assume they're both alive, but I'm not sure. We're all you got."

Miley had started crying silently. Annie and Jr kept sharing glances that clearly said, 'Is this for real?' Meanwhile, Topaz was trying to comprehend the impossible while Arnold didn't move. I kept my face as still as possible and waited for Shadow to finish.

"I'll retrieve the bodies tomorrow. I expect all of you at the Master Emerald in two weeks to restart your training. You need time to get over this traumatizing event. I encourage you all to help one another. Now I'm leaving to check on GUN. Please don't blow up the island while I'm gone." The new caretaker of second generation walked out the front door without a word.

As soon as he left, Miley burst into full on sobbing. I walked over and helped her up. "Come on girl. Let's take you home. I'll stay with you for now. Let's go…"

Miley nodded and allowed herself to be lead out of the hedgehog's house. I didn't look to see how the others were taking it.

We walked through the forest towards the Prower's house/work shop. When we arrived, it certainly looked like someone had fought. Windows were smashed and spare parts were scattered all around the yard. Miley didn't seem to notice.

I walked inside and led her to her room.

She ran inside and threw herself on her bed and continued crying.

I softly shut the door and made my way to the small guest room.

The room was neat, but way too white. "I'll have to fix that later…" I whispered aloud. I looked out the window and stared at the sky. It had become over cast and had begun raining. "Perfect weather…" No sorrow filled my mind or heart, I never really knew the other adults. Tails was always gave me some cool gadget for my birthday and Christmas; Amy was like that friendly aunt that lives on the other side of the country; Sonic was the teasing uncle; I never really talked to Knuckles; and Rouge was sort of like a business partner to my 'father.' And for some reason…I didn't feel like they were gone forever. But deep down inside I knew that wasn't true. Pulling out the guitar case, I decided to work on the song that had been so rudely interrupted. A few minutes later and a tuned guitar in hand I began strumming. Half way through the song I changed the lyrics and wrote it down.

Song: _The Call_

Artist: _Regina Spektor_

**(Looked up the lyrics and copy and pasted. I encourage all of you to look up the song and listen. Or just read it through. It's one of my favorites.)**

_It started out as a feeling  
Which then grew into a hope  
Which then turned into a quiet thought  
Which then turned into a quiet word  
And then that word grew louder and louder  
'Til it was a battle cry  
I'll come back when you call me  
No need to say goodbye_

Just because everything's changing  
Doesn't mean it's never been this way before  
All you can do is try to know who your friends are  
As you head off to the war  
Pick a star on the dark horizon and follow the light  
You'll come back when it's over  
No need to say goodbye  
You'll come back when it's over  
No need to say goodbye

Now we're back to the beginning  
It's just a feeling and no one knows yet  
But just because they can't feel it too  
Doesn't mean that you have to forget  
Let your memories grow stronger and stronger  
'Til they're before your eyes  
You'll come back when they call you  
No need to say goodbye  
You'll come back when they call you  
No need to say goodbye

I looked out the window and closed my eyes. "We'll be fine…Say hi to Cream for me."

**Yep...Team Sonic 1st Generation...is DEAD!? Sorry to all of those who were looking forward to Nicole meeting First Gen. And for those of you who are wondering what happened to Cream...read the first chapter. I'll give you a hint...she was in the battle with Eggman. Code name: Tea Time. Don't kill me! How does Nicole know about Cream?...she's a girl Shadow of course she knew! R&amp;R! I want to know what y'all think. (yes I said y'all. get over it) Thanks again to all of those who reviewed and commented. Oh and Christian Ape99, did the whole girl Shadow thing make sense? Shadowsthebest, of course he's a little abusive. He's shadow...sorry inside joke. You wouldn't get it... Anyway, I'll post the next chapter ASAP, but don't expect miracles to happen in the next chapter. It's just going to get worse...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay...this is defiantly not one of my best chapters. But what can I say, everyone has good and bad days. This one is shorter then the last chapter so I'll cross my fingers that you still like it. Nothing important to mention now. Only thing is I would like some more reviews on if this story is going well. Any opinions, good or bad, are always welcome. On to the story...**

**Two Years Later**

"Miley! Duck!"

"Yikes!" Miley rolled away just as Annie's hammer flew directly where her head was. The fox rolled up in to a ready position and fired her ray gun. Jr gabbed his sister and ran out of the way.

I smiled. Ever since their parents had died, Jr and Annie had gotten along better.

"Jr! I had it!"

"Yeah, and I run real slow!"

A little better. Miley grabbed my arm and pulled me up just as Topaz did a kick spin at my previous location.

"Nicole! Focus!"

I groaned then summoned my chaotic abilities and flew up with Miley. "Some things don't change…"

Shadow stood off to the side ready to intervene if someone was about to die…it's almost happened before. He did not look pleased with me…then again he never did.

It had been two years since the incident and those years did nothing positive for the black and red hedgehog. He grew more distant and even stricter…if that was even possible. About a month ago he had returned from his two month disappearance, I'm sorry, mission. As soon as he returned he put us into tag teams; Arnold and Topaz; Jr and Annie; Miley and me. He then put us through the worst month of my life. No free time at all…we got up at five, had an hour to get ready, trained until noon, had an hour lunch break, went back to training, didn't stop till six, had dinner, and then fell into a dead like sleep. Then the process repeated the next day. Yep…best month ever.

"SHREEK!" that darned whistle rang out. "All right, break for lunch!"

Everyone dropped on the ground.

Shadow didn't notice. He turned on his heel then vanished.

Miley stood up and stretched. "Holy cow…and I thought he pushed us hard before he came back…"

No one replied.

I stared at the spot that my mentor had vanished and my mind wandered back to the reoccurring thought that had been reentering my mind since he'd returned. _"He's hiding something from us. He found something out about…the deaths." _Shadow had been scouring the case of Team Sonic's deaths for the past two years and had come up empty handed every time. Whenever I questioned him why, he simply replied. _"So I don't have to do this cursed job anymore."_ But I suspected that it was more than that. "You want revenge."

"What?" Arnold asked.

I cursed myself for saying that last part out loud. "Nothing. Let's eat."

No one argued with that. 2nd Generation made their way to the picnic area without speaking.

Miley and I grabbed our food then sat down by the lake while the other four ate at the lunch table. They laughed and talked with one another while we sat in silence until the food was finished.

Miley sighed then glanced at me. "Please? They won't hear…"

"I don't even know why I told you I sing."

"I just want to hear one. Sing it softly or something."

"You aren't going to let this go are you?"

"Nope."

"Fine, but not here." I pulled out the red chaos emerald. Shadow gave it to me a year ago after he found it off the island. The emerald helped me charge my powers quicker and enhanced them a little…not that that was technically a good thing. I teleported us to a random spot in the forest where no one would be around then summoned my guitar.

"You can't tell anyone. Got it? And I'm only doing one song."

Miley waved her hand impatiently, "Yeah, yeah get on with it!"

I sighed. "Fine." I began strumming the old guitar and sang the first song that popped in my head. It was an old one I wrote almost five years ago, but still one of my favorites.

**(I know I said I'd only put part of the song on, but this entire song totally describes Nicole's life...minus the part about making her bleed. It will make sense in later chapters...I encourage all of you to look this one up and listen. It's one of my favorites)**

Song:_ When She Cries_

Artist:_ Britt Nicole_

_Little girl terrified  
She'd leave her room if only bruises would heal  
A home is no place to hide  
Her heart is breaking from the pain that she feels_

_Every day's the same_  
_She fights to find her way_  
_She hurts, she breaks, she hides, and tries to pray_  
_She wonders why, does anyone ever hear her when she cries?_

_Today she's turning sixteen_  
_Everyone's singing, but she can't seem to smile_  
_They never get past arms length_  
_How could they act like everything is alright?_  
_Pulling down her long sleeves_  
_To cover all the memories the scars leave_  
_She says, "Maybe making me bleed_  
_will be the answer that could wash the slate clean."_

_Every day's the same_  
_She fights to find her way_  
_She hurts, she breaks, she hides, and tries to pray_  
_She wonders why, does anyone ever hear her when she cries?_

_This is the dark before the dawn_  
_The storm before the peace_  
_Don't be afraid 'cause seasons change and_  
_God is watching over you_  
_He hears you_

_Every day's the same_  
_She fights to find her way_  
_She hurts, she breaks, she hides, and tries to pray_  
_She'll be just fine, 'cause I know he hears her when she cries_

_Every day's the same_  
_She fights to find her way_  
_She hurts, she breaks, she hides, and tries to pray_  
_She'll be just fine, 'cause I know he hears her when she cries_  
_She'll be just fine, 'cause I know he hears her when she cries_

As I sang, Miley's eyes grew wide then she smiled. By the end of the song, she was crying softly. "You…have a _beautiful_ voice! Wow! Does Shadow know?"

"Of course he doesn't know. I never told him."

"Where did you get that song?"

I shrugged. "Wrote it about five years ago." **(Not really. Britt Nicole is amazing)**

Miley's mouth dropped open. "You…uh…wow…"

Snapping my fingers, the guitar disappeared. "It's not a big deal."

The fox just stared at me. "Um…why did you write that song?"

"What is this, twenty questions?"

"I'm just curious."

Slowly, I laid down on the grass. "Um…I guess it was during one of those really bad weeks with training with Shadow….and five people tried to kill me."

Silence.

"I wrote that song to remind me that I was never alone. Shadow, Martha, Arianna; they were all there for me...well sort of Shadow. Now…Shadow seems even stricter and even more heartless then before, Arianna is missing, and Martha is probably…dead."

Miley leaned over and put a hand on my arm. "You don't know that."

Quickly, I looked down at my hands to hide the sorrow in my eyes. "There's been no sign of her or Prof. Roberts. Shadow's talked to Marie and she tells him that the police are baffled. Those two and a few other scientists just disappeared into thin air after the attack. I'm worried about them…they're the closest thing I've got to a family."

"You got us...2nd Generation, I mean. And me."

After that comment Miley and I sat in silence for the rest of the lunch break. When it was time to go we stood.

"And remember…not a word to anyone about this."

"Of course."

Miley grabbed my arm and I was just about to teleport us when.

"BOOM!" A giant explosion shook the island. We fell to the ground as we lost our balance.

Miley looked at me with a terrified look in her eye. "What…was…that?"

Slowly a cloud of smoke began to rise from the south side of the island.

A battle cry rose up from the same direction and more explosions were heard. The energy shield that had stayed up for the past two years flickered then died.

I looked at Miley with the now familiar feeling of fear beginning to fill me. "We're under attack."

**Dun, dun, dun! Sorry, I had to do that. I need to point out that the picture for the story is Nicole... Does anyone know if you can put pictures in stories...because I have the other characters put I have no idea how to show you... Anyway...I know there are some typo's but I am trying to edit through the best I can. I am not an English Teacher, however. Read and Review. Ask any questions about the story and I will try and answer them. Thanks to Shadowsthebest and Christian Ape99 for their continued support. And thanks to anyone else...I just haven't got reviews so I don't know your names... Oh and thanks dreamWeaver1521 for the review! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi again! I not really confident about this chapter so please tell me if it sounds choppy. I tried to smooth it out, but... Anyway. Questions to answer.**

**Christian Ape99: Um...no. I have all my characters, but if I need one, I'll ask. Why is Shadow so cold and heartless? Well...think about what happened to his first family. Maria got shot and killed, Gerald went a little insane and tried to destroy the planet. Gee...you wonder why he is acting really mean to these kids _he is in charge of__ now._ Sorry if that sounded mean. I'm just trying to help. **

**Shadowsthebest: soon...very soon.**

**Oh and one more thing. I thought I should update how old everyone is at the moment because we have a lot of missing years.**

**Cosmo and Arianna: 18**

**Arnold, Jr, and Annie: 17**

**Topaz and Nicole (just barely): 16**

**Miley: 15**

**Shadow:...he's immortal and doesn't age. does it really matter?**

**Anyway, onto the story! Charge! (points to anyone who knows what play I am quoting)**

Nicole's POV:

"Umm…" Miley began as we reached the clearing where the battle was commencing, "We are completely positive Eggman is dead…right?"

I silently agreed with the fox. Shadow was already fighting the intruders but the other kids hadn't showed up yet.

The intruders were robots. Yep…robots… You can see why we were confused.

My mentor threw several chaos spears and several bot's exploded on impact.

Okay…no furry animals so not Egghead…but these bots looked a little like them…but also mixed in with some old GUN models. We had the walkers (Sonic Adventure 2) but also those annoying bug bots (Sonic Lost World). One model I didn't recognize were these weird metal looking people that glowed purple. I closed my eyes and was almost overloaded by the chaotic energy coming off them (sort of looks like those dark gaia creatures from Sonic Unleashed, just robots) . Shadow seemed to really hate them.

Miley tapped on my shoulder. "Do you think we should help him?"

I shrugged. "I don't see why not."

Unfortunately, that's when the other kids showed up. They ran straight into us…literally.

"Ow!"

"Yikes!"

"AK!"

"Whoa!"

"Jr!"

"Ahh!"

Two seconds later we were all tangled up in a pile.

Annie was sitting on top with her arms crossed. "This is why I wanted to walk."

Jr pushed her off, "Well it's not my fault that the two minis' were in the way!'

"We aren't mini's!" Miley cried from the bottom.

Arnold sat up while throwing me several feet.

"Hey!"

"Just stay out of the way you two!" Topaz yelled as she jumped up from the ground with her brother.

The four teen's charged at the robot's and began smashing them to bit's.

I walked over and helped Miley up. "What were you saying about them being family?"

She gave a small smile. "Yeah…about that… You got me?"

I shook my head slowly. "Thanks…"

Just then, several robots breached Shadow's line. Second Generation launched into action. Annie and Jr did a tag team against the walkers while Topaz and Arnold attacked the bothersome bugs. Which left Shadow with the purple guys and Miley and me with…nothing…as usual.

Waving my arms I called to my mentor, "Shadow! Shadow! SHADOW!"

"WHAT? I'M A LITTLE BUSY!" the brooding hedgehog roared as one of the robots pinned him to the ground. He pushed up on it and flicked his eyes at me.

"Can we help?" I asked smiling.

Shadow just narrowed his eyes. But before he could answer,

"No way! What are the armatures gonna do? Run for their lives?" Jr called out as he dodged several missiles.

Annie jumped up and smashed the walker that had tried to kill her brother losing her hammer in the process. As she pulled out another she sided with her twin, "I have to agree with Jr. They'll only get in the way!"

Several explosions came from the right as Topaz blew up several more robots. "We've been trained with each other, they want to help, go figure out what to do with all this junk." She kicked what was left of one of the bugs.

Miley crossed her arms. "Are you just prejudicing, or do you guys just hate us?"

Arnold punched yet another bee-bot thing. It exploded pushing the echidna closer to us. "It's not your fault. We're just use to fighting with…you know…Ari and Cosmo. Sorry…"

I made a mental note to punch Jr, steel Annie's belt, take Topaz's chaos emerald, and push Arnold (at least he was honest). "So what are we supposed to do?"

Shadow blasted the purple ninja bot's and flipped over next to me. "Sit back and watch. The team has spoken…they don't want you so they do not get you."

Miley threw her arms in the air. "You're with them!"

Our 'caretaker' gave her a look then did something that surprised the two of us. He _winked._

I rubbed my eyes to make sure I was awake. "Um…did you just…?"

Shadow glared at me. "I have no idea what you are babbling about. Stop talking and tell me what's the problem."

The explosions were not helping the situation. 2nd Gen. was kicking tail while the fox and the hedgehog were being left out.

The ebony hedgehog's word's echoed in my head, _"Stop talking and tell me what's the problem."_

How in the world am I supposed to do that? I can't talk and tell him something at the same time.

Miley looked just as confused, but didn't say a word.

The annoying hedgehog just kept looking at me as if expecting something to happen.

"_For Maria's sake Nicole, can you really not figure this out?"_

I jumped. Okay Shadow has said this to me at training sessions but why is that popping in my head now? Unless…

I looked at him and raised an eyebrow in question. He nodded slowly.

Now very confused but eager, I closed my eyes and concentrated on my chaotic energy.

"_Is everyone online?" _**(Points to anyone who knows the TV show)**

Miley jumped in surprise. _"Crimitey! What are you doing in my head?"_

I opened my eyes and smiled. "_I guess I'm stronger than I thought."_

"_Indeed." _Shadow's voice sounded far away. _"I didn't think you'd get it the first time."_

"_You planned this?"_

He shrugged. _"I had a hunch you could have telepathic abilities. Your energy is very…unpredictable."_

"_Cool! So I can read minds? Or is it just talk? Maybe I could-"_

"_Focus."_

"_Sorry… Wait, you can do this too?"_

"_Only for a short period of time; like a sentence. Other than that, I have to use my voice."_

Miley scrunched her forehead in concentration. _"This could be very handy for missions…or just for eavesdropping"_

"_Focus you two," _Shadow…thought? **(You wouldn't say 'said' right?)** _"Let me explain. If they don't want you then you don't want them. A team needs to cooperate completely. If you want to be part of the team, then you need to prove that you deserve to be part of it."_

"_And how exactly do we do that?"_ I crossed my arms and glared at him pointedly.

Shadow waved his hand impatiently. _"I'm getting there. You have to show that you belong. You can do things they can't. That's what a team does, relies on their differences. So you need to show your differences are worth it. For instance:" _He pointed at Miley, _"You are smarter than your sister. Now they don't know that. Show it to them somehow. Also; you aren't a bad shot."_ He gestured to the laser gun that was strapped to her belt.

I snorted at that. Not bad? She was as good, maybe even better, then me…and that's good.

"_None of that,"_ Shadow glared at me. _"You need to focus. You're not a bad shot with that gun of yours and chaos spears. I also think you can start demonstrating your chaotic inventions."_

I raised an eyebrow at that. I had come up with several chaotic attacks over the past two years, but Shadow didn't want me using them in public. What happened those two months ago?

"_You prove yourselves…you join the whole fight. I need you both to try your best…please."_

Miley looked like she was about to faint. _"Um…Shadow…are you feeling okay?"_'

I was worried myself. What was with this guy? One minute he's pushing us so hard that we are about to die of exhaustion; the next he's giving advice. Okay…I really don't know my mentor do I?

Shadow nodded at me and I took that as the signal to break the telepathic connection. We finished just in time…Second Generation had just finished the robot's.

"That was awesome!"

"Did you see that bee? Just exploded on impact!"

"Whatever Arnold. It took you three punches to break it to bits!"

"Did not!"

Shadow cleared his throat. "Are you done?" His voice sounded much sterner than a few seconds ago in my head.

All the kids shuffled their feet. "Yes Shadow." We answered in unison.

"Great. Now let's get back to the training grounds."

A small groan went up among us.

"Do you want me to double it?"

No one moved or made a sound.

"That's what I thought. Any questions?"

Once again, no one moved. After a few moments I slowly put my hand in the air.

"Nicole."

I heard Jr groan.

"Um…what the heck happened? Who attacked us? Why did they attack? And what is with these robots?"

Shadow closed his eyes. It struck me how tired he looked just then and I thought I saw a flicker of regret appear on his face but it faded as soon as it appeared.

"Good questions…which will be answered at a later date."

Immediately, every teen started talking.

"What do you mean?"

"You say that for everything!"

"What are you so afraid of?"

"Are you hiding something?"

"Stop treating us like kids!"

"We can handle anything!"

"QUITE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

Everyone fell silent.

"Thank you Nicole. I am not telling you because it's my choice. All you need to know is that this person is very dangerous and will do anything to kill you. That's why I've been pushing you so hard. Anything else?"

No one moved.

"Good now let's-"

"Mph, ump, ha, ha" **(I don't know how to type that evil laugh I love so much)** a dark laugh echoed through the clearing.

Shadow's face went a shade paler. "All of you: run."

No one moved. I whirled around, eyes darting through the trees searching for the source of the laugh.

Shadow tried again, but his voice failed him. He sound _really_ tired.

Miley grabbed my hand as the laugh repeated. "What…was…that…?"

The laughter stopped abruptly. "I'm offended."

I whirled around and drew my gun. Pointing towards where the voice came from, I cocked it then gasped and slowly lowered the gun.

"Did Shadow not mention me?" Arianna asked as she stepped out of the shadows.

**Wait...WHAT JUST HAPPENED? JK. Reviews please. I'll post the next chapter ASAP...but it may be a while. School is starting back up for me next week and I don't know if I'll have time tomorrow and I don't do this on Sunday...sorry in advance if it takes a while but I'll do my best. Thanks to everyone who has read this so far and for any continued support.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay...I know what I said earlier but I had more time than I thought. But seriously, I will not be updating after this (unless my homework load is not too heavy) until my next free day. Anyway, I decided to do part of this chapter in Shadows point of view, but I don't think I did well. Tell me what you think and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. So where were we? Oh yes...Ari...yeah don't kill me please. Oh and thank you KrazyCat6167 for the reaction. It made my day...and I love it when that happens. So all of you guests who have been reading this story but don't leave a review, I have a challenge for you. Make my day somehow (but make sure it relates to the story somehow) and I'll try really hard to post even sooner then next Saturday. Yes you! Anyway...on to the story!**

**Shadows POV:**

Arianna stepped out of the shadows. "Did Shadow not mention me?" She crossed her arms and smiled smugly. Her style had defiantly changed over the years. She was wearing a blood red t-shirt with a black leather jacket and black pants. Combat boots and a sheathed (?) gun were also present along with a thick gold bracelet with a bright red gem set in the middle.

I stared at the gun in disgust…that gun had ruined so many people's lives. Too many lives…

I closed my eyes and tried to block out the pain; the pain that had slowly been building for two years.

Nicole held her gun loosely in her right hand. "Ari?" she whispered.

I grabbed her wrist and yanked her behind me with the other kids. "That's not Arianna."

Miley looked confused. "So we have a shape shifter?"

In the back of my head I recalled something that Miles use to tell me about 'shape shifters.' I almost smiled. _Almost_. Recalling the words I shook my head, "Shape shifters don't exist. There are people, who can change their appearance, but it's more of an allusion…or so your father use to say."

Jr snorted. "Then what is she?" he pointed at the black and red hedgehog.

Arianna smirked. "Oh…I'm Ari alright. He just doesn't admit." She made a pouty face at me. "Is Shadow feeling bad about everything…_now?_"

I felt a wave of anger wash over me, but I _barely_ managed to swallow it. "The Arianna I knew would never attack innocent people."

The traitor sneered. "Anyone who sides with you deserves to die! Weather they like to or not…don't you agree Team?" the girl waved to the four teens.

Nicole now stepped forward. "Um…explanation anyone?"

I grabbed her arm and pulled her behind me again. "Stay there," I hissed.

She glared at me and opened her mouth to protest, but before she could, Arianna threw back her head and laughed.

"Still protecting your last hope, Shadow? I am a bit surprised. Didn't you want her killed in the first place?" She smirked at me.

I growled at her. "You want to bring up _my _flaws, _murderer_?"

Miley held up a time out sign. "I am so confused. What are you talking about?"

Arianna twirled her hair in her fingers. "Murderer? I prefer, getting revenge."

My heart started to pound and I felt the pain and panic try to envelope me again. Struggling, I pushed it aside and pulled myself together. No need for any of that now. "You killed…" I couldn't finish. For two months I had been trying to figure it all out, but no answer I wanted came up. Everything pointed to Arianna…my own clone.

Sure enough…she didn't deny it. "What killed those annoying 'heroes'? Please, I can't believe Eggman couldn't get them. It was way too easy." She gave me a smile.

Topaz made a noise in her throat that sounded a lot like a cat. Arnold balled his fists while Annie pulled out a hammer. Jr scrunched his face in confusion (seriously, I thought Sonic was never slow so why is his son slow on catching things up) and Miley pulled out her gun.

Nicole turned pale. "What…did…you…say?" She whispered.

I felt my heart start to break. Quickly, I tied it together and scolded myself for the hundredth time in the past five minutes. Then I turned towards the children and nodded my head. "She killed your parents…I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

Jr's face burned with anger. "You didn't _tell us_? But we're…"

"Team Sonic," Annie finished.

Topaz and Arnold nodded.

At least they sometimes acted like a team…but why was it always at the worse times?

**Nicole POV: **

I felt like I had been run over by a steam roller. My brain wasn't working properly. While "Team Sonic" was yelling at Shadow, I was trying to put puzzle pieces.

"Arianna, please tell me you didn't…"

My sister just sneered at me. "Kill Sonic and the others. Fine, I won't."

I just stared at her. She really looked…different. Meaner and more serious and apparently…evil. "But why? Why would you kill them?"

Ari's face turned red with furry. "Why? _Why_? _WHY_? I'll tell you why! They weren't the intended targets! I was trying to get rid of him!" she almost screamed and pointed at Shadow. "All we ever heard about him when we were kids was that he didn't want anything to do with us! Then suddenly when we were made known to the public he came running back! And how did he treat us? Like dirt! So I thought, why not get back at him? So I planned everything out…until those darned heroes got in the way! Of course I had to take them out so no one could tattle on me!" She breathed heavily.

I just stared in shock. "Ari… you told me you forgave him for that years ago. Why would you not tell me?"

She shook her head. "I lie idiot!"

Now coming from Jr, Annie, Arnold, Topaz, and sometimes Miley, I could handle being called that. But from Arianna…it just felt like a whip had slapped me. I stumbled back in shock as my sister glared at me with hateful eyes. Then they turned calm.

"You just reminded me on why I came here. My dear sister Nicole…you know why I'm doing this. Didn't you always hate how _he_ treated you? Always pulling you down from your full potential; keeping secrets from us; making us train separately; why do you stay with him?"

Something very painful was happening as my elder sister was talking. All of those times and all those memories came flooding back. Every time Shadow had pushed me way too hard or beat me for missing the target felt ten times worse than I had experienced.

"I am acting to save you from falling into this pathetic man's shadow. All of you," she gestured towards the rest of the kids. "You were always going to be the mini team. Especially Miley and Nikki, I didn't want that. That's why I did what I had to do. Cosmo didn't understand properly, but she'll see my way eventually. But all of you…you've been living here for two years in fear that someone was going to kill you. But you didn't need too. I have no intentions of hurting any of you. All I want is Shadow."

I grabbed my head as anger started to fill me.

Miley gripped her gun tighter and targeted Ari. "Where is my sister?"

The girl laughed. "Safe…for the moment. She is very useful; these robots are her inventions. Didn't you like them?"

I couldn't see properly. Everything was becoming blurry and any sound started to sound distant. My mind didn't seem to hear what she was saying. I had the sudden urge to kill… I tried to shake it, but it wouldn't leave.

While I was fighting my brain, everyone else was fighting Ari. Miley had fired two shots at her, but unsurprisingly missed since my sister could teleport.

Jr took off running with Annie and did the double team attack. Blue spun around and around then released pinky at blinding speed. She swung her hammer, but Ari ducked and kicked Annie in the stomach. She flew back in surprise.

Topaz flew up and tried to do a spinning kick, but a chaotic shield blocked it easily. The bat hit the ground painfully.

"Topaz!" Arnold cried. He ran over and checked on his sister. After she pushed him off saying she was fine he turned towards the teen girl and roared. Punch after punch, Arianna blocked them all with ease.

The only one who hadn't moved was Shadow. He watched intently as if trying to figure out what to do.

Miley slid over to me and slipped me the green chaos emerald. "Here, you might need the extra juice. Are you okay?"

Before I could reply, saying I was not, Ari threw a chaos spear at her. Miley scampered away.

Shadow finally moved and was attacking Arianna with a fierceness that I had only seen a few times. They went punching, kicking, and flipping like their lives depended…while in Shadow's case it did.

I suddenly felt a wave of furry towards my chaotic mentor. Without knowing what I was doing pulled out my gun and cocked it. I targeted Shadow and was about to pull the trigger when suddenly,

"_Nicole! Stop!"_

I almost dropped the gun and looked around. The hate had passed and I realized what I had almost done. Quickly, I threw the gun aside and looked back at Arianna and Shadow. The pupil was actually overpowering the mentor with shocking moves, many that were meant to kill. Shadow's words came back, _"That's not Arianna."_ I swallowed and realized what he had meant. She was Ari, but not _my_ Ari. She'd changed and had turned to the dark side. Forcing back tears, I raised my hands.

"_Shadow, Move!"_

The hedgehog jumped aside as I yelled, "Chaos Shots!" Several mini chaos spears shot out at lightning speeds like a machine gun. Arianna screamed as many of them found their target. She covered her head with her arms and crouched down.

The look on Jr's face was priceless.

Shadow yelled at the kids to run. I heard Jr begin to argue but abruptly stopped at a glare from Annie. The speedster grabbed her and Miley while Shadow gripped Arnold and Topaz by the arm.

"Nicole let's go!" Miley yelled.

I narrowed my eyes as my levels decreased. "Go! I'll catch up!"

Miley would've protested, but Jr was already gone with Shadow close behind.

I stopped shooting. "Please Arianna, you're my sister. I don't want to fight you."

The traitorous girl looked up from the ground. "Too bad sis, because if you side with them then you have to fight me, weather you want to or not." She hissed at me.

I looked to the ground in sorrow.

Arianna softened her tone. "Last chance sis, join me or perish with the others."

The feeling returned. I wanted to get even for all the pain, I wanted to go with her, and I wanted revenge. In the back of my head, I knew something was wrong, but I ignored it. This was what I wanted…

"_No it's not. Snap out of it Cole!"_

I snapped my head up and the feeling disappeared. "No…I will never go with you."

My sister's eyes widened in surprise and then she quickly replaced it with a look of hurt. "But Nicoll-stick…you're my sister."

In the calmest voice I could muster I replied with something I never thought I'd ever say. "We were sisters."

Arianna's eyes looked pained. "If that's your decision…so be it." She pulled out the cyan emerald and vanished with two simple words.

I dropped to my knees and began to sing softly to myself.

Song: Break You Open

Artist: Aruna **(I think. Then there's an Airplane edited version)**

_Tell me, tell me why?  
Can you hear me?  
Are you faraway and distracted  
Or afraid of what I might say  
'Cause I know your every move  
I can see things  
That you walk right through  
And I listen to the lessons lost on you  
In your race to escape the truth_

But I will be the one to break you open  
Make you come undone  
And I will be the one to turn you over  
Let you see what you've become  
'Cause there's something in you  
That's dying to come alive  
But you're happy hanging on  
Just getting by

Silent tears streamed down my face as I sang, trying to believe this was just a dream **(Ha. Maybe I should've put that song in instead. Well…that's more of a love song so never mind)**. I finished the song then stood up quickly. Summoning my remaining energy I floated above the ground then pushed off going about half Sonic speed in the direction the other's had headed. Only then it hit me…

_There's only one person I know who calls me 'Cole.' But he's…_

I dropped down and looked around.

"Knuckles?"

The forest answered my question. No guardian around…then why did I feel like he was right next to me?

For a moment I thought I heard him again, but I couldn't make out the words.

"Could you repeat that?" I whispered under my breath.

"_Beware the gem."_ The voice fell silent.

"What gem?"

No answer. Whatever thing that had allowed the echidna to pass through the veil must have closed. Just in case the hot head could hear me I mumbled a thank you under my breath. The green emerald in my hand sparkled has I summoned my flight again and took off. All the while, wondering what in the world had just happened and why it had to happen to me.

**No Knuckles didn't fake his death and no I will not explain why she heard him, so don't even try. Anyway...review please! I need more tips! Thanks again to all of those who keep following a favoriting (I don't care if that's not a word) the story. I got four people on each list! Which is four more than I thought I would get. Thanks again! And I keep forgetting the disclaimer. I don't own any SEGA characters, but all of second gen belong to me and so do Anderson and Roberts. Any questions, ask. But no spoilers...**


	8. Chapter 8

**Yeah! I found time! Anyway...thank you to all of the reviews that I got! I had to stare at the number for a minute in order for it to sink in. Thank you! Any questions, let me know because I would be happy to explain. This chapter is a little choppy in my opinion so let me know what you think. On to the story!**

I found second generation in a clearing…_arguing._ I dropped down next to Shadow and crossed my arms. He glanced at me, nodded, and then looked back at the kids.

Jr and Miley were fighting about going back to help me (they didn't notice I was already back). Miley wanted to help, but Jr kept protesting I'd be fine…and if I wasn't it was my own fault. While Jr was arguing with Miley he was fighting with Annie at the exact same time (which I don't understand) about Arianna. Jr was absolutely convinced that Arianna had turned evil, while Annie kept insisting it was a clone. Meanwhile, Arnold and Topaz were having an argument about…being a guardian?

"For the last time Topaz, I don't want to do it!"

"Why not, you get to guard a giant emerald! An emerald! I'd kill for that job!"

With a small sigh, I rolled my eyes and began a mental argument with Shadow.

"_Why didn't you tell me!?"_

"_I didn't want you to worry."_

"_Yeah, and an evil elder sister is something to not worry you enough to tell me. What's the real reason?"_

"…_I didn't want you to know your sister who you thought was kidnapped was actually a murderer."_

"_Well at least you're being honest now! Anything else you want to tell me, like…I don't know…what was that about wanting me dead?"_

"_Why did I let you know you could do this?"_

"_Because you knew I'd need it eventually and decided to teach it before Arianna showed up."_

"…_That's part of the reason…"_

"_Yeah, it is. Now what about killing me?"_

Shadow seemed to lose interest at this point and fell silent.

The kids were starting to bring out their claws. Hammer girl had pulled out a hammer and was attempting to hit Jr, but he just pushed Miley in the way and ran. Miley was attempting to shoot Jr and Annie with her laser gun on 'sting' mode while trying not to get smashed with a hammer. Over to the side, Arnold and Topaz were continuing their verbal argument by calling each other names.

"Knuckle-head!"

"Sneak!"

"Slacker!"

"Thief!"

"Why, thank you."

"It wasn't a compliment!"

I rolled my eyes. Then my mind wandered back to Arianna's appearance. _Okay so I know she killed first gen. but they were not the target. Shadow was, but that doesn't make sense. She forgave him a long time…unless she was lying which is not like Ari at all. What is going on? And why did I want to…help her? I don't hate Shadow…right?"_

I shook my head. Now was not the best time to argue with myself. Annie had somehow thrown her hammer and it had hit Arnold so now we had the bat and echidna in the fight. Next to me, Shadow sighed and reached into his pocket **(? Seriously, where do they keep their stuff? Do they have hidden pockets in their fur?)** and pulled out…was that an air horn?

Sure enough, I covered my ears just in time as a long blast rang out which deafened the other teens. Shadow was _not_ happy. He marched forward and pulled the kids apart.

"Is this how you treat your team?! What are you thinking?! Just because you're looking for a reason to fight, doesn't mean you get to turn your anger towards your team!?"

Jr crossed his arms. "I was yelling at Miley and my sister…that was about it. No team, unless you count Annie if she wasn't my sister."

For what happened next I don't know who was more surprised; Jr or me. Shadow walked over and smacked the blue hedgehog across the face.

"You need to accept Nicole and Miley as teammates because obviously your old ones aren't going to be here anytime soon! They're you're only hope if you want to beat Arianna! So stop treating them like trash! I know about the bullying so don't you think for one second you've snuck anything under my nose! You teens think you're indestructible but you aren't! And the only two humble enough to understand that are the two that you will not allow on the team! Miley and Nicole could beat the four of you up easily!"

I raised an eyebrow at that. _Okay…he's mad. _Shadow was right about the indestructible thing…but beating the four of them…that might be a little of a stretch.

Jr was so startled after the smack he didn't say anything.

"You want to test that?" Topaz asked with a smirk on her face. She crossed her arms and walked over to Shadow.

I groaned and caught Miley's eye. She looked just about as scared as I felt.

The mentor raised an eye. "What?"

"You're claim. I bet we could beat those two in two seconds."

I thought Shadow was going to pull out but to the displeasure of the fox and me he just nodded. "Alright. Three hours. Master Emerald clearing. But don't be surprised if you get beat."

Arnold smirked at me. I could already feel the pain that was about to come. _Maybe Shadow could help us…_

It was as if Annie could hear my thoughts. "You're on! But one condition, you can't help either team prepare. This all the kids. Got it?"

Shadow shrugged. "All the same to me. But before we do this, let's talk about Arianna."

Miley exploded at that comment. "Why didn't you tell us!? And don't say you didn't know! I know you knew! How could Ari kidnap my sister and kill our parents?! What is wrong with her!? And what was her problem!?" the yellow fox took some deep breaths.

Shadow gave her a blank expression. "Are you done?"

"Not quiet. One more question, but this is for Nikki…can I have that chaos emerald back?"

I had completely forgotten about the green emerald. Within seconds I had pulled it out and tossed it back.

The other teens looked back at Shadow. He sighed and motioned all of us to sit down. "I guess I should tell you the whole story…"

We gathered around and sat down in a neat circle. I had the ridiculous flashback of story time when I was a little girl.

Shadow took a deep breath and began. "It all started about eighteen years ago…"

**So what do you all think, too choppy? Let me know and review please! And to let you know...I am probably not going to post in a while. This next part is kind of complicated...but you get to get to know Shadow a little better...so yeah...r&amp;r please!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay...I am shocked I finished this today. Once again, I am trying my best to update as soon as I can. Okay...this chapter get's you inside Shadow's head...so tell me what you think. Just warning you though...you're going to see a different side of the brooding hedgehog. Trust me... OH and I want to forgive all the typos. I just reread my story and HOLY COW! _I have a lot of errors!_ Anyway, on to the story.**

**POV: Shadow**

I took a deep breath and began. "It all started about eighteen years ago…"

_The team had gotten a call to stop a burglary in process and was actually in the middle of chasing them when I got a phone call from Professor Roberts. He told me to come to GUN immediately. I tried to ignore him, but his voice sounded scared so I decided to quickly check in. Your parents had everything under control anyway._

_When I arrived Thomas greeted me, but rather jumpy. He went on to explain that there had been an accident. My DNA had been switched around during a reorganizing from the medical department to the cloning facility. Without anyone knowing, a partial clone had been made. They had discovered the clone an hour earlier. He led me to where the clone was being kept until they, and by 'they' I mean me, figured out what to do with it. My first thought when I saw it was something about the fact that she's a girl. Martha Anderson, the scientist who had discovered the mishap, had already named her Arianna Patricia Hedgehog. After much debate, I eventually decided that Arianna would remain in this facility with limited contact to anyone in the facility and no contact outside the facility._

_I'm afraid this was my first mistake. I didn't tell people, not even your parents, about this clone. I was hoping she could grow up and at a certain age they could release her. Then it would be made know that I had no contact of any sort with her and she could live a normal life…but it was not to be._

_Two years later I get a similar call from the Prof. Another clone; but different situation. This one was…dangerous…one that no one wanted alive. Thomas and I came up with a simple and humane solution. Give the child a sedative that would allow her to fall asleep…a sleep she would never wake up from. When we arrived on the scene, Martha refused to give us the clone. Eventually I managed to wrestle her away from it. Looking down at, once again, the girl, she slowly opened her eyes._

I paused here and tried to hold back the wave of emotion that suddenly swept over me. That day was one of the most confusing days of my life.

Nicole had turned pale at the mention that we were going to kill her. Miley was trying to comfort her without words.

I continued the story still trying to hide the emotion.

_I'm not exactly sure what happened, but suddenly…I don't know exactly. We ended up not killing the clone and dubbed her Nicole. Same plan for the first clone, except we took a risk…a big risk._

_About five years later, your parents found out and they were not happy with me, but eventually forgave me. Two years later the public found out. Protests began and several mobs attempted to kill them. Eventually, they forgave Arianna and went after Nicole. That's when I had to step in. Arianna was not happy that I suddenly entered her life, but I thought she got over it…until now._

I shook my head and came back to the present.

"Now I know I was wrong. She killed your parents without even breaking a sweat because she played dirty. Tail's was shot execution style, Amy and Topaz from behind. Knuckles and Sonic were caught in a force field with the bomb. There was nothing I could do. It's my fault that they're dead and I can't fix that. I should have been there earlier in Arianna's and Nicole's lives. I'm sorry."

After I finished the teens did not say a word. Silence filled the air. My thoughts encircled me, but I tried to push away the memories.

Jr finally broke the silence. "So…because you ignored the girls…our parents are dead?"

Slowly, I nodded. Unlike his father, Jr did not keep his cool and lost his temper…again.

"What! You got to be kidding! Why do we even stay here?" Faker Jr. continued his rant he'd done since day one of being stuck on this wretched island.

I droned him out and stared ahead blankly. My thoughts wandered back in time.

"_Martha, give me the darned clone!"_

"_Never! She needs a chance, just like Ari! It's not my fault that the Professor messed everything! Please Shadow!"_

"_Anderson!" I growled and jumped at her. She screamed and fell back but didn't get far. _

_Quickly, Thomas held her down as I ripped the pile of blankets from her. _

_The scientist screamed as tears streamed down her face._

_Ignoring her, I carried the clone over to a table and laid it down. Without a word I removed the blankets. _

_The baby girl slept peacefully, not a care in the world. I grabbed the pill and broke it open then spilled the contents of it into a small bottle._

_Martha continued screaming and crying behind me. Arianna was pounding on the far door, and in her small voice was demanding to know what was going on._

_Shutting out any sound, I picked the kid up and was about to give her the bottle when the small child opened her eyes. Red stared at red as the kid looked me in the eye. I felt my mind waver, and then pulled myself together. Slowly, I began to bring the bottle to the baby. She reached out eagerly and smiled. I froze._

_The kid continued to grab at the bottle, but I wouldn't bring it closer. Within that brief smile, I saw something that looked…familiar. An old friend…who was long gone…make that two old friends… But I also saw something else; sorrow, acceptance, and…bravery? It's like the kid knew what was going to happen and had simply accepted her fate. She wasn't afraid of dying…and her eyes…they seemed full of some hidden secrets. A lot like mine…_

_I felt a wave of sorrow wash over me. Trying to pull myself together, my brain reached out to any sort of answers. "What would Maria do?" Of course I knew what she would do…but was it the best decision? _

"_Shadow! What are you waiting for!?" Roberts yelled._

_Martha continued to cry and scream._

_After a deep breath I attempted to give the child the bottle, but my arm didn't move. I finally felt my resolve crumble. I placed the child comfortably back in her blankets and turned towards the two scientists with the poisoned bottle still in my hand. Without a word, I raised my arm and threw the killer at the ground. Glass shattered loudly as the Professor cried out in surprise._

"_Shadow, what are you thinking?!"_

_Martha began to calm down, but was still shaking with shock. Roberts had released her and marched over to me. "What the heck are you-?"_

_I cut him off. "I've changed my mind."_

_He gave me that look. The one that came before someone was going to try and call me crazy…scared and nervous._

"_Um…Shadow…I don't-"_

"_I don't care. Leave her here under Martha's care with the other clone. Got it?"_

_The professor tried one more time. "Shadow…this is a bad idea. She's twice as st-"_

"_I Don't Care!" Breathing deeply I glared at him._

_The scientist swallowed and nodded slowly. "Fine…"_

_I turned around and began to walk out of the trashed lab._

"_Wait!" Martha called out to me._

_I paused, but didn't turn around. "What?"_

"_What…what should her name be?"_

_I rolled my eyes. "Why are you asking me?"_

_Martha took a deep breath. "I- I thought…you might want to…"_

_Startled and a bit pleased I thought. My mind immediately wandered to her smile and the name popped in my head. "Nicole Maria Hedgehog." Without saying another word I left the building._

I shook my head away from the memories as Jr finished his speech.

"This is all your fault!"

Annie, Topaz and Arnold nodded in agreement. Miley looked at the ground while the clone I had been thinking about still seemed confused and disappointed in me.

I shook my head slowly. "Yes Jr I am. And I am so sorry. I really am."

The blue hedgehog crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "You don't care about us! All you want is to get out of this job. You never cared about us, our parents, the world, or anyone for that matter!"

I saw Nicole's head snap up at those words. She motioned for Jr to shut up, but the damage had been done. I was already mad at Arianna and at myself but my anger boiled over at his words.

Within seconds I had marched over and stood directly in front of Jr. The anger in my eyes must have been very evident because he shrank back a little. "Don't _ever_ talk to me like that again. Because despite what you think…I _do_ care; but I don't show it. So blame me for your parent's deaths, blame me for your problems, but _don't ever say those words again_," I hissed softly.

Jr scrambled away from me. It took all my strength to not chaos spear him, but the message had gotten through…hopefully.

The rest of the teens seemed angry, but decided to not risk my anger.

I sighed. "Alright, Miley get that force field back up. Everyone else bed; tomorrow we'll continue training. Report at nine am."

Ignoring the gasps of surprise at the time I whirled around and teleported away. Once I was in the hidden cave I'd discovered a few years ago I allowed my emotions out. I screamed and hit the ground once then curled up in a ball and allowed the silent tears to fall: for Maria; for the professor; for Thomas; for Martha; for 1st Generation; for 2nd Generation; for Nicole; but especially for Arianna.

**Don't kill me! But I think it's kinda of...interesting...anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! I'm going to try and post the next chapter tonight because it shouldn't take to long, but no promises. Anyway...Review and tell me what you think of Shadow's head. But keep in mind what he's gone through in this story. Hope you enjoyed it!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Yeah! I finished the chapter! It's really short (shortest chapter I've ever written), but important. Welcome to Ari's head! I think this is going to be the only chapter in her point of view. Hope you enjoy it...but it's probably going to confuse you all. So enjoy!**

**Arianna POV:**

**Location: Hidden Base in Mountains**

I sat on my 'throne'…if that's what you wanted to call it. Cosmo kept glancing at me nervously as she built a new type of robot. I called them crawlers since they looked a lot like worms with machine guns.

My face was stained from crying, but I ignored it. The fox kept looking at me and I hated it.

"STOP STARING!" I roared.

Cosmo jumped and dropped her tools.

Without another word I whirled around and ran out of the room and slammed the door. Sliding down I hit the ground and buried my face in my hands. Almost immediately I had a flash back.

_It had been a weed since Shadow had begun training us and Nikki had been trying to cheer me up._

"_Come on Ari! I want to sing to you!"_

"_I'm not in the mood Nicole."_

_She looked up at me with those bright eyes. I finally gave in. "Fine."_

_My little sister smiled at me and dragged me to her new room. She dug around in her closet as I looked at the furniture. All black and red, seriously?_

_She found her guitar and tuned it. Without waiting for me to sit down she began to sing._

**(Okay...I had to put the entire song here. Sorry... Listen to it please. It'll make sense in the last chapters, trust me.)**

**Song:**** Only Hope**

**Artist:**** Mandy Moore (written by Switchfoot)**

_**There's a song that's inside of my soul  
It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again  
I'm awake in the infinite cold  
But You sing to me over and over and over again**_

_**So I lay my head back down**_  
_**And I lift my hands**_  
_**and pray to be only Yours**_  
_**I pray to be only Yours**_  
_**I know now you're my only hope**_

_**Sing to me the song of the stars**_  
_**Of Your galaxy dancing and laughing**_  
_**and laughing again**_  
_**When it feels like my dreams are so far**_  
_**Sing to me of the plans that You have for me over again**_

_**So I lay my head back down**_  
_**And I lift my hands and pray**_  
_**To be only yours**_  
_**I pray to be only yours**_  
_**I know now you're my only hope**_

_**I give You my destiny**_  
_**I'm giving You all of me**_  
_**I want Your symphony**_  
_**Singing in all that I am**_  
_**At the top of my lungs I'm giving it back**_

_**So I lay my head back down**_  
_**And I lift my hands and pray**_  
_**To be only yours**_  
_**I pray to be only yours**_  
_**I pray to be only yours**_  
_**I know now you're my only hope**_

_She finished then looked up at me. 'What do you think?"_

_I smiled and nodded. "I loved it. Thank you."_

_Nicole smiled and threw her arms around me in a giant hug._

Without thinking I softly sang the chorus out loud then promptly burst into tears.

"I'm so sorry Nicole…I can't stop it…"

**Dun dun dun! Sorry...couldn't resist. Anyway...reviews please! I enjoy them a lot! I know this chapter was short, but I can promise the next one will be longer...which means it will take longer to upload. Be patient please! Please review and tell me what you think! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Holy Cow. I am shocked that I finished this tonight. three chapters in one day. Pat myself on the back! Okay...let's just go straight to the story!**

**Nicole's POV:**

It had been almost two months since Arianna had revealed herself. Shadow had been a lot easier on us kids…sort of. We now got up at nine, trained until noon, got a two hour break, then trained until five and was given an hour of free time which was followed by dinner then bed.

Miley had become obsessed with freeing her sister from Arianna and used every spare second to try and find her.

Jr and Annie now argued a whole lot less and had grown a whole lot better, now that they were actually taking this thing seriously.

Arnold had stopped complaining about his duties and had even yelled at me for getting to close to the master emerald…which Shadow yelled at him for later. But still…it was better than slacking

Topaz hadn't stolen anything. Not sure who's more surprised.

Meanwhile, I had been working on my chaotic attacks. First Generation had become very impressed every time I showed them a new one. I had the ones they were familiar with; Chaos spear and Chaos blast; but then I had a ton of new ones. Chaos shots, Chaos mind (sort of like an attack on your mind. Not my favorite on to use since I got to see peoples' darkest secrets), Chaotic shield (kind of obvious), Chaos twister **(picture Sonia's super spin from Sonic Underground… or for people who haven't seen that it's like Blazes twister move she does in some video games. Kind of like that…just add tiny chaos spears flying out of it)**, Chaotic warp (which is like teleporting, it's just that it's several teleportation's [?] in a row), Chaos sword (don't ask.) and of course Chaos (moving stuff, throwing things with my powers, healing, etc.). Gee…you wonder why Shadow wanted to kill me. Okay, I was still a little mad about that small fact he seemed to find unimportant. But do you blame me? Seriously, that guy needs to tell us stuff instead of hiding it. Did I want to kill him? No. Maybe beat him up…but killing was going way too far.

So why did Ari want to kill him?

That question had been entering my mind the entire time…but I never got a second alone with Shadow to ask him about it. Until now…

Earlier in the day we had been training really well. Jr and Annie didn't argue once, but managed to attack in perfect unison and coordination. Arnold had exceeded during his exercise and had even won a 'good job' from Shadow. Topaz did her karate (? … whatever you call it) perfectly managing to take down both Jr and Annie (separately). Not only astonishing 2nd Gen and Shadow at the shooting range, Miley had outscored everyone (including me by one point. Shadow didn't compete). Everyone had done a wonderful job…everyone that is…except me. I had miserably lost focus on the obstacle course and shooting range and had been completely destroyed during sparing.

Shadow had released all the kids but had made me stay to have a private training session.

So there I was, sparing with my mentor just like old times. He threw chaos spears and attempted to spin dash me, but I avoided it easily. He teleported and disappeared off my radar. That's when my mind started to wander…and when Shadow attacked me from behind and completely took me down.

"Nicole. What have I told you about focus?" Shadow said in a softer voice than usual. In a shocking turn events, the black and red hedgehog had stopped yelling at us unless absolutely necessary.

"I know…I know…"

"No you don't." He held out his hand and pulled me up.

I looked him in the eyes in shame. Shadow sighed and placed his hands on my shoulders.

"Come on…we're going on a walk." He led me off the training grounds into the woods.

We walked in silence for several minutes, drinking in the fresh air and the beauty of the forest…or at least that's what I was doing. Not sure what he was doing…

Anyway, Shadow finally broke the silence. "What's on your mind?"

I didn't answer right away and pondered the question. "Lots of stuff; Ari, training…you."

He raised an eyebrow at that last one. "Me? Why me?"

Leaning down I picked a red flower. It really was pretty. "I just can't get over the fact that you wanted me…_dead_." I whispered the last word, the pain obvious in my voice.

Shadow sighed and put his arm around me. "Nicole…you have to understand. I didn't _want_ you dead. I was just trying to make sure the world-"

"Was safe, I got it."

"No." The way he said it made me double take.

"_No?"_

"I knew the world wasn't ready for someone like you. I wanted to make sure the world didn't harm you. But…something stopped me."

"What stopped you?" I asked a little too quickly.

Shadow squeezed my shoulder. "Don't push your luck. Are you feeling any better?"

We had reached the lake near the edge of the island. Standing on a small cliff on the edge of the water, the two of us watched the sun begin to set.

I gave a small smile. "Actually…yes I am."

With a small nod Shadow replied, "Good." He sat down right on the edge of the cliff. I carefully joined him, but he totally caught me.

"Are you afraid?"

I shook my head quickly. "No! Of course not!"

My mentor raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe a little. What can I say, I hate heights."

"You're not afraid of chaos spears, the fact that you have to protect the world and that I'm your mentor…but you're afraid of heights?"

"Maybe…"

Then he did something that shocked me more than Ari's betrayal. Shadow threw back his head and laughed. It faded almost as soon as it appeared.

We sat in silence for several more minutes. Shadow leaned back on his arms lost in his thoughts. Meanwhile I was trying to figure out how to word my questions. Finally I decided I'd just come out and say it.

"You enjoy helping the kids don't you?"

Shadow's eyes flickered over to me. "What?"

I smiled. "Just admit. We're growing on you."

"No you're not."

This time,_ I_ raised an eyebrow.

Without a word, the hedgehog looked back at the sunset.

I continued. "We are growing on you…and don't deny it. I know you actually had a pretty close friendship with Sonic…or rivalry if that's what you want to call it…and I know you cared about the rest of the Team. But you blame yourself for their deaths…including Cream's."

Shadow's head snapped over to me at these words.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes I know about Cream. It's not that hard to figure out, you know. But I think these past two months have been good for you. The teens have actually begun warming up to you, which I know sounds weird but I think since you haven't been hiding anything really big they've begun to warm up to you." I hesitated then pushed on. "And you to them. Sort of like a second father. You've actually been…kind…in a way. Thank you." I looked out at the lake which had now turned gold from the setting sun.

We sat in silence. But it wasn't awkward silence…more like comforting. Shadow reached over and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Nicole…you can't repeat this. _Ever._ But…you're right. I guess I've been trying to help them in the way I should have been from the beginning. But, the way I care is tough. Every time I yell at you, it just means I'm worried that if you don't fix it that one little mistake will get you killed. Now I know that I can't do that for all of you. It worked for you and Arianna…but these teens had other trainers and other tactics. I just needed to figure them out…"

He squeezed my shoulder again and for once in my life…I actually wished Shadow was my actual father. He wasn't too bad…if you got past the brooding.

My mentor continued. "Besides…I won't be here forever. Someday, you kids are going to have to fend for yourselves."

I frowned at those words. "Um…Shadow…You're immortal."

He shrugged. "That doesn't mean I can't die in battle. I just don't age. I have to teach you all I know before I join…" he trailed off in thought.

I knew who he meant. _Maria._

But I was still a little creeped out by his tone. It sounded so serious and sorrowful. "Shadow…you can't die."

He looked at me and gave a small smile. "Don't worry. I'm not leaving anytime soon. I still have a lot to teach you."

He stood up and held out his hand to me. I took it and he hoisted me up. I looked out across the lake and the beautiful sunset. Shadow turned around and began to walk back to the kids.

Biting my lip, I called out. "Shadow?"

I heard him stop and I continued on.

"Don't me leave me alone. Ever." What in the world had gotten into me? Sharing my feeling's just like that.

Shadow stayed still for a moment. "I won't."

I stared out across the lake at the red and pink sky. Why did the sun look so red? I stood there just watching it when suddenly,

"NICOLE!"

Before I could move, I felt Shadow slam into me and I tumbled off the cliff. I was too shocked to scream. I heard a machine gun ring out as I fell straight into the lake.

**No comment. Review about Shadow's new attitude. You're all awesome!**


	12. Chapter 12

**OMC (oh my chaos. sorry, found it in a different fanfiction and fell in love with it immediately) I am so sorry...I've been busy. GC, school, homework, I'm shocked I got this on. Okay: WARNING: I cried while writing this...part of the problem was I was listening to sad music. Yeah...go to youtube and listen to sad songs while reading this. I have a whole list:**

**Safe and Sound-Taylor Swift**

**Haunted-Taylor Swift**

**God Bless the Broken Road-Rascal Flatts**

**Hurry Up and Save Me- Tiffany Giardina**

**Remember me for Centuries- Fall Out Boy**

**Listen to Your Heart-Edmee**

**Don't Deserve You- Plumb**

**Never Alone- Barlow Girl**

**Only Hope- Mandy More**

**Yeah...you'll be bawling if you're like me...anyway...let's get this over with...**

**Nicole POV:**

I breached the water, gasping for air. The twenty foot drop had sunk me about ten feet underwater and since it was hard to see in, I hadn't been exactly sure which way was up. It took me about ten seconds to figure that out and by then I was sort of low on oxygen. So saying I was grateful for the air was an understatement.

I shook the water out of my ear and strained my listening skills, trying to pick up anything that might tell me what exactly had just happened. Instead of answers, all I found was silence…and I mean dead silence. No birds chirping, no wind, no nothing. It was sort of creepy.

Pondering the scene, I tried to re-live what had exactly happened. Shadow had yelled and suddenly I had been pushed off the cliff. Then there had been gunshots… I froze then quickly looked around for ripples in the water. The giant lake was completely still except for the splashes that I was making. Almost reluctantly I softly called out.

"Shadow?"

No answer.

I looked up to the top of the cliff. Shouldn't be too difficult to climb up…or fly up in my case. I swam over to the edge of the water and hoisted myself up. In a jiffy, I shook myself as dry as possible; although the clothes were spoiled…I'd have to yell at Shadow for that. I shook my head, _"Focus."_

I was about to fly up to the top when I heard something. It was a small sound, almost nothing; but after the minutes of complete silence it was loud enough. A small click…sounded a lot like-

Years of training kicked in as I ducked behind a boulder. Gun shots rang out and splattered the dirt where I had previously been standing. I crouched down even further as the bullets hit the rock I was hiding behind. Without thinking I teleported up onto the cliff and punched my would-be killer from behind.

Arianna yelped in pain and dropped the gun. Unfortunately, she recovered quickly and attacked. My sparing against my sister seemed tame compared to the onslaught of punches and kicks I was blocking. At one scary point she pulled an eight-inch long knife and attempted to stab me. I quickly dodged and grabbed her wrist. Twisting and pulling it out with one fluid movement, I was tempted to use her weapon against her, but quickly changed my mind. Even though she just tried to kill me, Ari was still my sister.

Eventually, I cornered my killer sister with her back to the forest. _"You tried to kill me?_ I wasn't sure if I should scream in anger, or throw up in disgust. My own sister…

Arianna snarled. "Well, you won't join. So you must be destroyed…"

"Just because I'm with Shadow, doesn't mean we have to be enemies."

A cruel laugh came out of my sister's mouth. "You _were_ with Shadow."

I frowned. "What?"

"You'll see." Arianna gave me a wicked smirk then disappeared.

I felt a foreboding sinking feeling enter my heart. Ari had been shooting at me…which Shadow wouldn't allow…unless. I slowly turned around; facing the cliff, still setting sun, and the lake. Lying on the ground about five feet from the edge was a black and red form. I felt my heart stop.

Without a word, I walked over and kneeled down next to him and examined him. At first, everything looked fine. Then I placed my glove on his back and felt a sticky substance. Pulling the glove away, black blood covered my hand. After further examination I found ten bullets through the Ultimate's back (two through the heart) and two through his head. Yet he was still breathing…which I didn't completely understand. Gently, I turned him over.

Shadow groaned in pain then slowly opened his eyes. He stared at me with one of those glares. "Get started."

I almost smiled. He doesn't give up easily. Without orders I already knew what he wanted.

"No. The pain would kill you. If I could do them one at a time with twenty minute intervals it might work, but by then you would have bleed to death. Besides, you've already lost too much blood."

My dying mentor glared and opened his mouth to protest but all that came out were several lung hacking coughs. After catching his breath he just glared at me.

Taking a deep breath I launched into the best speech I could do. "You did a really good job; kept me…them…everyone safe. I sometimes think, I never deserved that, I mean look at me! A cheap copy…" I trailed off. This was supposed to cheer him up, not hear my complaints.

"You're…wrong."

I started and looked at him.

"You…may be…a…copy…but I…always…cared."

I wasn't sure if I should laugh or cry at this. I decided to do neither and just listen.

"Help…the…others…You're…in…charge."

I almost laughed at that idea. Me…in charge…yeah that was going to happen, but I kept my mouth shut.

"They…are…too…much…like…their…parents…You…are…something…new…unique…different…they…need…that…in…this…life."

I shook my head slowly. _"You have no idea how different I am."_

Shadow continued. Seriously, how long does it take for him to die? Then it hit me. He was going to die…like stop breathing die. No more training…we were on our own. He was going to leave me…just like that.

At this thought I burst into silent tears.

"Stay strong. I…know…you…will…and…help…Ari…something's…wrong…with…her."

Shadow must have seen my tears because he reached up and wiped them away.

**Shadow's POV:**

I almost smiled…but I remembered that I wasn't coming back. After Nicole refused to do the time healing I knew I was gone. Without a second thought I accepted it. I had lived too long anyway…but still. I noticed the tears streaming down her face and reached up and wiped them.

"Don't cry…I'll…be…fine." I burst into another coughing fit and tasted blood. I knew my time was short, but I didn't have the strength to continue talking. Instead I grabbed Nicole's hand and reached into my pocket and pulled out the red chaos emerald from my pocket. Placing it in her hand, I closed my eyes and thought about all I wanted to tell her. I felt my memories begin to run through and Nicole gasped in shock.

Re-living the past with someone else is really…weird. Images flashed by; GUN soldiers, Maria, Eggman, Cream, Team Sonic first and second generation, Martha, Thomas, Nicole, Arianna, and a few others. All the memories I wanted her to understand…like why she lived. Then as quickly as it had started it stopped.

Nicole withdrew her hand in shock and looked at me. The tears had returned, but I knew why. I closed my eyes and laid my head back down. Suddenly, I felt really tired. Sleep seemed like a really good idea. My pain had become a dull throb. My life flashed before my eyes, but it was pleasant memories; old memories; but some newer ones.

"_Shadow? Don't me leave me alone. Ever." _

"_I won't."_

My eyes shot open as I realized those words had been said just minutes ago. There's no way I could leave Nicole like that.

My young protégé seemed to know what I was thinking.

"Close your eyes."

My stubbornness had returned. "No. I don't want you to be more like me."

"Maria isn't you."

"If only that was true." This scene had become disturbingly familiar but instead of me being in a capsule, Nicole was locked in it and I was the one pulling the lever. "Never again. I won't let it happen."

The girl just smiled at me. "You're already gone. It's time for you to go home. Maria is waiting for you…say hi for me, okay?"

I shook my head and tried to sit up but felt a firm hand push me back down.

"Shadow…I can't see you in anymore pain. Please…do it for me…"

My vision started to tunnel and blur. "Nicole…"

I felt a cool hand on my face and a soft 'Shh.' Reluctantly I closed my eyes again. Maria wouldn't have to wait much longer…but Nicole. My soul refused to rest and I didn't try to leave. I drew each breath holding on for dear life. Suddenly, I heard a soft voice singing. It was soothing and comforting; I'd go so far to say angel like. The song comforted me…but was sorrowful just the same.

Song: Safe and Sound

Artist: Taylor Swift

_I remember tears streaming down your face_  
_When I said, "I'll never let you go"_  
_When all those shadows almost killed your light_  
_I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone"_  
_But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight_

_Just close your eyes_  
_The sun is going down_  
_You'll be alright_  
_No one can hurt you now_  
_Come morning light_  
_You and I'll be safe and sound_

_Don't you dare look out your window darling_  
_Everything's on fire_  
_The war outside our door keeps raging on_  
_Hold onto this lullaby_  
_Even when the music's gone_  
_Gone_

_Just close your eyes_  
_The sun is going down_  
_You'll be alright_  
_No one can hurt you now_  
_Come morning light_  
_You and I'll be safe and sound_

_Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh_  
_La La (La La)_  
_La La (La La)_  
_Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh_  
_La La (La La)_

_Just close your eyes_  
_You'll be alright_  
_Come morning light,_  
_You and I'll be safe and sound..._

_Oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh oh oh_

I felt myself begin to slip away as the song stopped.

A soft voice whispered in my ear, "Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog."

I squeezed Nicole's hand softly then welcomed the folds of darkness.

"_Goodbye…my daughter."_

**DON'T KILL ME! It had to happen! You'll understand later! I'm sorry! *bawls in corner and begs for life* R&amp;R please! I'm wondering how well I did the sadness...is that a sentence? **


	13. Chapter 13

**Unlucky number! Sorry…bit superstitious about the number 13…okay…review answer time!**

**Christian Ape99: Aunt who? You know what…I don't want to know**

**KrazyCat6167- Thank you!**

**EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ THIS. IT EXPLAINS SOMETHINGS: (directed at John and Shadowsthebest) Okay…I know you're upset but let me say something. Maria is an angel…not a god…so no she can't send him back; Tikal is not in this dimension; and the Master Emerald…think about who's in charge of it. A guy who doesn't want to be a guardian…so I don't think the M. E. wants to talk, let alone help him. Lastly…Nicole was going to heal him a chaos emerald, but the pain would have killed him. Let me put it this way. There's this thing I like to call 'Chaos Healing.' I know, it's a paradox…but who cares anyway? Basically if Nicole ever like, broke her arm, she would use this ability. Basically it takes the injury and speeds up time…a lot. Within three seconds, the wound has traveled forward in time to its healed self. **_**Now think about how much that would hurt on a broken arm or even a scratch.**_** Yeah…ouch! Now in a bullet wound's case you have to reverse time and pull the bullet out and change the skin and flesh back to normal. It's going to hurt a whole lot more. Now Shadow got shot **_**twelve times**_**. It takes about twenty minutes for a proper recovery from backwards chaos healing so by the time she did that twelve times he would have already bleed to death. If she had done it all in five minutes…the pain would have killed him. That's why she refused to heal him, if you recall. Yeah…so he's dead…or is he? Okay…so he's not completely dead…he's just not breathing and walking alive. Anyone believe in guardian angels? Yep…so he's not breaking his promise, he's just not exactly keeping it either…You'll see what I mean later.**

**Thanks to all of those who have continued reading up to know! I love you guys…so on to the story! P.S. - did that description make sense? Oh and I'm not sure if Shadow called Nicole his daughter out loud or in his head. What do y'all think?**

**POV: Nicole**

I stared at the rising sun, but unlike previous mornings it looked dull and dreary.

Shadow had been buried at midnight the same morning. I hadn't gone to bed after the small funeral…if that's what you wanted to call it. It had basically been second generation staring in shock as I did all the work. I don't think anyone was prepared for my mentor dying…but no one cried. I guess they didn't feel an obligation too, and I had finished long before the others had discovered me on that fateful cliff.

Closing my eyes I thought back to that meeting. I had been staring at the lake that was now lit by the full moon. Shadow had been gone for almost two hours by the time the teens came to look for us. Miley found me first. She took one look at me, one look at the body, and then walked away. You have to love friends who know what you need. I needed to be alone. When the other kids arrived, they stood a respectable distance away and whispered in low voices. I didn't tell them what happened and didn't plan to tell them ever.

Without a word I picked up Shadow and teleported to the Memorial garden. This garden had been specially designed and built for first Generation when they had passed. Large statues of the heroes stood behind giant stone panels that covered the graves. Sonic's was in his signature stance with the thumbs up and one eye winking; Knuckles just stood there with his arms at his sides; Tails had one hand on his hip and a smile on his face while his other hand held a hammer; Amy was in a hammer swinging pose; and last but not least, Rouge was standing with her wings spread and stood in a sassy pose. I passed the statue of the unknown hero of the final battle Eggman and stopped at the last statue. Considerably a long distance from the rest, a giant stone version of Shadow stood glaring at me with his arms crossed.

It almost made me smile. It looked a lot like Shadow when he was going to yell at me for focus issues. I laid the body down and pulled out the red emerald. It glinted softly in the moonlight as I placed it in the perfectly shaped hole in the center of the stone slab. The slab glowed a soft red then slid out of the way of the three foot hole that was lined with stone. I used chaos control to lift him into the hole, and then removed the emerald. The stone moved back into place and shuddered to a halt.

A little why later, Second gen. found me staring at the statue. They wandered to their respected parent's and we all thought about our caretaker. I could have sworn I saw Jr mouth something along the lines of, "I'm glad it wasn't you" to his Dad's grave.

But it was probably my imagination…now he was asleep with the others. I didn't leave the garden, but looked out across the field of flowers that were next to the small cemetery. I didn't move my spot, but looked up at the moon and stars. Without realizing what I was doing, I started to talk aloud.

"So…you're gone. I guess I knew it would happen one day…but not this soon. But it's okay…we'll be fine. Or at least I hope we will be fine. You did your best…we just didn't try hard enough. I took you for granted…but I was wrong about that." An awkward silence filled the air as I ran out of things to say. "Say hi to everyone for me…tell them how we are doing…and how much they miss them. Also, tell Maria…about me please…you may not be here, but I promise…" I trailed off then took a deep breath. "You can't do it, so I will. I promise to keep this world safe; to give them a chance to live in peace. Just like you would and she would want…"

The wind shifted and blew at me, shifting my hair out of my face. I closed my eyes and allowed my thoughts to envelope me. Shadow's memories ran through my head; Maria, his adventures with Team Sonic, Missions for GUN, and his time with Ari and me. I saw how 1st Gen died; I saw how…he saved my life. At this memory I couldn't hold back the tears. The wind picked up and blew my tears right off my face. I never realized how much he cared…which was why he was always yelling at me ferociously. Tough love… Singing softly I continued to cry.

Song: Haunted

Artist: Taylor Swift

_Come on, come on, don't leave me like this  
I thought I had you figured out  
Something's gone terribly wrong  
You're all I wanted  
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this  
I thought I had you figured out  
Can't breathe whenever you're gone  
Can't turn back now, I'm haunted_

Suddenly,

"_Well…don't just waste your life away. Get going!"_

I opened my eyes and looked around. There was no one in sight. I looked down at the emerald in my hand. For a moment, I thought I saw Shadow in the reflection of the gem, but as quickly as it had come, it faded. Slowly, I felt peace wash over me and began to smile.

"Thanks…Father…"

I stood up and turned myself away from the rising sun. I had read that a rising sun represents the beginning of something new…and so it did on that day. A new Nicole had been born…and she was not going to take no for an answer.

**So what did you all think of that? R&amp;R. I need it… Next chapter I'll try and do more action scenes, but no promises. What do you think of all the family and friend talks? How about your opinion on second generation? Let me know in the reviews, please. Thanks!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey everyone! I'd like to apologize for not posting sooner but I've been a little busy with school and tests…and the dumb internet is being a real pain in the neck! I can't tell you how many times I have had to open and close it because it's been unresponsive. Let's move on before I take all my frustration out on the keyboard…**_**breaths deep**_**. Anyway…okay so we last left off with Nicole pondering her mentor's untimely death. And I apologize for all of the awful typos. I have a ton. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I love to read them all. They made me smile and make all this worth it. Anyway…Comments on reviews!**

**Meadow of Blossom Patches: You are the first to admit that you've cried and that made me want to cry in happiness. If you cried then that means I am writing it really well. Also, I love all of the comments, they made me laugh and smile.**

**dreamWeaver1521: really? really?**

**Christian Ape99: Thanks and I'll do my best to keep up the awesomeness... and I don't know what to say about the aunt thing. I don't want to know anything...really I don't. It's none of my business...**

**Now...Lights! Camera! and... Action!**

**Nicole POV:**

It had been two weeks since Shadow died. Second Generation had mourned properly and were now a bit confused on what to do now. I had no doubts or questions. Quickly, I had learned why Shadow was so distant. With a promise like that resting on your shoulders, it's enough to drive anyone a little bit panicky. I was terrified to suddenly be in charge of the world's safety. And I quickly realized that I wouldn't be able to do that from here.

So after thinking the matter over, I confronted second gen. with my decision.

"What do you mean you're leaving?" Jr crossed his arms and stared at me.

I took a deep breath. "I am leaving because I have too."

Everyone looked confused. Annie reacted first.

"No you don't. You can stay here with us. Wait for Ari to get impatient enough then we trap her, easy as pie."

Inside I rolled my eyes. _Pie is not easy._ I had tried it once and failed miserably. Shaking my head I scolded myself for not focusing. Quickly, I gathered my thoughts then continued slowly. "I have to go. I know it makes no sense but…this is something I have to do."

Arnold and Topaz shared a look. "What are you talking about?"

Without answering I turned towards the sunrise. We had gotten up really early out of old habit. I almost laughed at the sight of Annie coming out at five in the morning, but decided that wouldn't be a good idea. Her hammer _hurts._

"I have to go." Then I hesitated and spoke slowly, "I'm wondering if…any of you…wanted to come with me." Quickly, I looked at the other teens. All of them seemed to shocked to say anything. As usual, Jr recovered quite quickly.

"I'm gonna go with, _no,_ but thanks." He crossed his arms and frowned. I really wish he wouldn't do that…it looked way to much like Shadow.

Annie nodded. "I agree with Jr. I'm not leaving this place."

Without a word, Arnold and Topaz nodded in agreement.

I sighed. I'd expected this from them. But I wasn't sure about Miley…

"I'll go pack!" the fox yelped. I stepped back startled.

Everyone else immediately protested.

"You're too young!"

"What?"

"Absolutely not."

"You'll be killed immediately!"

"Are you two insane, or just dumb?"

Miley didn't pay attention to them. She simply winked at me then ran back to the workshop.

I smiled, but was a little worried. Quickly, I shook off the feeling. Miley's not a kid anymore. Besides, she's older then Tail's was when he first met Sonic. Second Generation seemed to disagree.

"Are you really going to let her go? Jr marched right up to me and got right in my face.

Since I hated when he did this, I tried really hard to not slap him. "Why not? She's fourteen, which is three years older than her father when he started. Also," I stopped and smirked. "If I recall correctly, the two of us beat the four of you during that sparing match. I think we'll be fine."

Before any of them could answer, Miley had finished packing and burst into the clearing.

"Ready!" the fox called from a shining blue biplane. The look on the gruesome foursome's faces was priceless.

"Where did you get that?" Arnold asked in an astonished voice.

My best friend smirked. "Why I made it…well sort of. This is the _Tornado 5_, Cosmo's plane. I helped build though…and after Arianna nabbed her and destroyed it I fixed it up. I have one, but it's not finished yet. The shielding and weaponry is giving me trouble."

I almost burst into laughter at the confusion on the teens faces. Keeping my face straight I walked over by the plane and leaned against it with my arms crossed. "You guys do know she's a Prower, right?"

Jr just blinked dumbly. "But she doesn't build things…or hack…or anything like that!"

Miley crossed her arms. "Since when? Who told you that? Oh right, you told yourselves!" She hopped down and gave me a high-five.

The team just stared in shock. When they finally had recovered, I was already in the passenger seat and Miley was getting ready to take off.

Trying one last time, Jr called out to us. "You won't get any farther than ten feet from the shield! Arianna has thousands of robots guarding the outside."

I rolled my eyes. "And I throw chaos spears and Miley shoots bullets!"

The fox laughed out loud then began fiddling with the GPS.

Annie raised her hand. "I still don't know why you're doing this. We can stay here safe from the world! Safe from Arianna! Why are you leaving that?"

I pondered that sentence for about three seconds then answered firmly. "Because that's not what Shadow would want…that's not what your parent's would want…and I made a promise."

Topaz rolled her eyes. "Oh great…now she really is Shadow."

Only half trying, Arnold called out. "Just because you are the last good Ultimate, doesn't mean the world is in your care! Use your brain!"

I rolled my eyes. Were they ever going to give up? Right then and there I decided to throw all caution to the wind. Taking a shaky breath I began to sing, softly at first but it grew louder as the song progressed.

Song: Listen to Your Heart

Artist: Roxette

_I know there's something in the wake of your smile.  
I get a notion from the look in your eyes, yea.  
You've built a love but that love falls apart.  
Your little piece of heaven turns too dark._

_Listen to your heart_  
_when he's calling for you._  
_Listen to your heart_  
_there's nothing else you can do._  
_I don't know where you're going_  
_and I don't know why,_  
_but listen to your heart_  
_before you tell him goodbye._

_Sometimes you wonder if this fight is worthwhile._  
_The precious moments are all lost in the tide, yea._  
_They're swept away and nothing is what it seems,_  
_the feeling of belonging to your dreams._

Miley hummed along as she started the _Tornado 5. _The rest of 2nd Gen. just stared in shock. I felt my nervousness begin to melt away as we began to inch forward.

_Listen to your heart  
when he's calling for you.  
Listen to your heart  
there's nothing else you can do.  
I don't know where you're going  
and I don't know why,  
but listen to your heart  
before you tell him goodbye._

_And there are voices_  
_that want to be heard._  
_So much to mention_  
_but you can't find the words._  
_The scent of magic,_  
_the beauty that's been_  
_when love was wilder than the wind._

The biplane lifted off the ground at the edge of the clearing. Miley pulled up and circled around the island once. We looked down at our prison for the last two years…it felt really strange leaving it. I finished the song softly, more for myself than anyone else.

_Listen to your heart  
when he's calling for you.  
Listen to your heart  
there's nothing else you can do.  
I don't know where you're going  
and I don't know why,  
but listen to your heart  
before you tell him goodbye._

_Listen to your heart_  
_when he's calling for you._  
_Listen to your heart_  
_there's nothing else you can do._  
_I don't know where you're going_  
_and I don't know why,_  
_but listen to your heart_  
_before you tell him goodbye._

As I closed the song I wiped away the silent tears that had begun running down my face.

Miley glanced back at me. "Are you sure about this?"

Forcing a smile I nodded. "Take us out."

She banked to the right and headed for the force field. I pulled myself out of the cockpit and prepared myself to see the world outside for the first time in two years. As we pulled out I felt my throat catch. Miley looked out the shield with a look of horror.

"It's…it's…"

I took a shaky breath. "I know."

The world outside the island looked bleak, desolate, and void of life.

**Cut! I think I'll stop right there. So, what do y'all think of this chapter. I'll try and post sooner, but I can't promise anything. Review please! I need some suggestions on how to make the characters better. Also, I'm thinking of adding a new guy (or girl. whatever…) in…not sure yet. What do y'all think? Too much? Thanks to all of those who are reading this. I really do need more suggestions…and I'm thinking of adding a little bit of romance down the road. NOT NICOLE. Just second generation, any suggestions from any of you would be appreciated. No same gender…I refuse…to awkward in my opinion. No hating on me for that. Anyway, sorry about the long song, but I found all of it very important to the story. I also want opinions on Arianna as a villain. Anything that she needs to lessen up or increase on just let me know. Any other questions, comments, or concerns let me know and I will do my best to answer them… Thanks again to all of y'all! And no, I'm not from Texas. I just like y'all.**


	15. Chapter 15

**SECOND LONGEST CHAPTER! WOO! Okay before I thank you all let me say something. This only applies to one of you so don't worry.**

**Me: Could you stop spoiling everything!**

**dreamWeaver1521 (DW): Meee? I don't spoil anything. I make annoying comments that only you understand and refrain from spoiling.**

**Me: Well Knock It Off!**

**DW: *thinks about it* Nah. It's more fun this way! I'm just…waiting.**

**Me: Don't even start. Everyone, meet dreamWeaver, my friend who has helped me with this story; DW, meet everyone. She's going to be making comments from now on. Sorry if it confuses you.**

**DW: *waves energetically* Hi everyone! Nice to officially meet you. =^.^= I'm really not nearly as crazy as you think.**

**Me: Nope she's worse than you think.**

**Nicole: Why is this girl getting involved with my life? I have enough junk already!**

**Me: It's just temporary…no wait, it's not.**

**Nicole: I'm gonna kill you.**

**Me: *runs out the door at top speed* DW! Take it from here! AHHHHH!**

**Nicole: *runs after me* Get back here!**

**DW: Um… I refuse to get involved in that…Nikki is even scarier than you think… So… Let the chapter begin! *goes in search of nuclear bomb shelter***

**Me: *runs through the room with Nicole on my heels* What she said! Hope you enjoy and make sure you review-AHHHH!**

**Nicole: *throws chaos spear* This chapter better have a happy moment. I hate how much I'm crying.**

**Me: No comment.**

**Nicole: Which means…?**

**Me: Read to find out…and please don't kill me.**

**Nicole: I'll consider it…**

**Me: Good…now get into your place!**

**Nicole: *runs on the set as fast as possible* Not helping that I'm making comments!**

**Me: Doesn't matter. Anyway…**

**Sorry about that. Thanks to the two of you that actually reviewed…well one of them was dreamWeaver and she doesn't really count. I have also gotten two PM's. Today we are meeting someone new and I hope you all enjoy him. I think I might love this guy more than one of my characters. Explanation at the end. Anyway,… PLACES! And ACTION!**

**Nicole POV:**

I'm not sure 'dead world' was the right adjective to describe what we were seeing. At the edge of the horizon I could actually see green forest and life, but for miles around Angel Island was bleak and dead. The buildings were destroyed and abandoned. No living person was seen from the plane.

Unfortunately, neither Miley nor I had the time to actually take a good look at it because of the sudden lasers shooting at us.

As a Prower, Miley had already had a lot of experience with airplanes so she easily dodged them by spinning the plane. The only problem was she didn't warn me to hold on. One quick flip and I was falling through air about 300 feet up. I didn't realize this until about 200 feet and didn't react till 50 feet. Quickly, I summoned my chaotic abilities and came to a sudden stop about ten feet above the ground.

"That was too close for my taste." I gathered the energy then rocketed back up into the sky. While I ascended, I talked to Miley…in her head.

"_Really? What did you do that for?"_

"_Sorry, I barely reacted in time…and if you didn't notice I'm a little busy!"_

I glanced up and cursed myself. Miley was in the middle of loops, dodges, and spins that would rival her father's fancy flying. All the while, several robots that looked a little too much like the E-Omega model were trying to shoot her down.

"_Sorry. But next time, a little warning would be nice!"_

I shot up right next to the plane and flew beside it.

Miley barely glanced at me then dodged several shots. _"You know I can't keep this up forever, right?"_

"_Yeah, but I need you to move in order to take out twenty robots at once."_

"_Fine, give me a minute."_

"_We don't have a minute!"_

I threw several chaos spears at the closing robots. Only two hit their mark. Miley seemed to reprogramming the plane and dodging at the same time…not sure how and I never asked. Within five minutes of leaving the island, Miley and I were in danger of dying. Not the best way to start looking for Arianna in my opinion.

The bot's closed in and aimed. This time I knew their aim would be true; Miley had lost room to maneuver. Just as I thought we (well probably just her) were goners, the _Tornado 5_ stalled then dropped out of the sky.

"_Whatever you were going to do, now would be the time!"_

Without hesitation I built up the energy then released the biggest chaos blast I'd ever done. Gold light blinded and then disintegrated the Omegas.

I heard the _Tornado_'s engines start up and had time to think, _"Did I do that?"_ before I blacked out.

When I awoke Miley was wrapping my arm with a white bandage. She looked at me then smiled weakly, "Don't ever do that again."

"Alright…what exactly did I do?"

The fox sighed. "Don't drop out of the sky and make me catch you using the plane. Look at your arm!"

I looked down. The bandage covered most of the injury, but it sure stung like heck. My skin was cut in sharp lines and looked as bad as it felt. "How the heck did that happen?"

She shrugged. "I guess a small piece of metal wasn't hammered down properly. Don't worry, I already fixed it."

I gave a small smile. "What about the bot's?"

Miley grinned. "They're visiting the scrapyard…well what's left of them. I never knew you could do that."

Quietly I sat up and flexed my fingers, testing the pain. I found it bearable and stood up. "I didn't know it either…Shadow always warned me to not use all my energy at once like that. He said that it would eventually get me killed."

Miley crossed her arms. "Well falling 300 feet from the air would defiantly count as 'dead', don't you think?"

I laughed. "Yeah, it defiantly would." I looked around and realized how bright it actually was. "How long was I out?"

"About four hours."

Blinking, I found that information startling. "Okay…so if the fall didn't kill me the robots defiantly would have."

Quickly, Miley nodded. "Yeah, I've already shot like twelve. They're everywhere! And get this, no people. Not a single human or animal in sight! They all just got up and left."

I shrugged. "Not really. Since Team Sonic died they didn't really have an quote on quote 'hero.'"

"True…all very true."

I walked over to the plane and inspected it; a few scratches, but nothing that couldn't be fixed. "So how did you land the plane without losing me Tails?"

Miley tensed up. "First of all, I don't drop people unless there not paying attention and do something dumb. I put you in the cockpit after you landed right next to the shielding. Second, _don't ever call me that again_."

I wasn't sure if I should be offended, surprised, or confused. So I went with surprised and confused. "You don't like that name?"

My friend crossed her arms and glared at me. I don't care if she's a fluffy fox, Miley can be terrifying at certain points. "_Do I look like my father? _No, so I'm not Tails."

In a wise decision I decided to not point out the fact that she did in fact look like her father. "So…what do I call you? Mi's? Ley? Or maybe-"

The furious girl interrupted. "Do you have to have a nickname for me?"

I didn't even have to think about that. "Not really, I just think you need one. I mean I've known you since I was nine."

"You really don't seem like the nick-name type." This time, Miley sounded surprised and confused.

I shrugged. "Does it really matter?"

"Yes."

I quickly decided to drop the subject. "Never mind, let's get going."

Miley frowned but jumped into the cockpit. I decided to stand outside again. One reason was I wanted to see the dead world better…the other being I didn't want Miley to get any madder at me. Trust me…she can be scary.

After an hour of looking at the city, Miley asked the impending question. "So where exactly is Arianna and how are we going to defeat her."

A few minutes later I finally answered. "I have no idea."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh good, I thought you might actually have a plan."

"Oh shut it."

Miley opened her mouth to make a comeback but didn't have the chance. Several shots rang out as our plane was attacked by yet more robots.

This time I jumped off the plane onto a robot before Miley started her fancy flying. Yep…best idea ever.

The robot, which was one of the many purple glowing chaotic robots from the island attack from months ago, attempted to shake me off to no avail. I gripped tightly around the head and yanked it off. It shuddered then dropped like a dead weight. By the time it hit the ground I had taken out three other robots in the same fashion using Chaotic Warp. **(See chapter 11 if you forgot what that means)** The robot's kept coming.

Miley was doing much better. She had raised the shields and shot about twelve out of the twenty robots surrounding her plane. Nothing is more impressive and exciting as watching a bi-plane dodge and execute attacks perfectly. It's like watching an airshow, but more danger of dying.

Unfortunately, even with Miley's shooting and my teleporting, the wave of bot's didn't seem to lessen. The dumb robot's just absorbed any chaotic attacks I threw at them and I was not as quick with destroying them with kicks and punches. On top of that, I was growing tired from all the teleporting and zipping around. Seriously, how was Ari able to make this many robots, slave labor?

Undaunted, Miley continued fighting with the same vigorous attitude. Meanwhile, I was growing closer to falling out of the sky again after every robot. Just as I thought I was going to drop a giant explosion rang out and ten of the robots exploded. A large bulky figure, who was floating a little below us and out of the range of the bots, cocked back his giant bazooka and fired again. More bot's fell.

I heard the bot I was about to tear apart begin repeating the same thing over and over again.

"_**Priority One; Priority One; Priority One.**_

Every single purple glowing machine, no matter what they were doing, turned and charged at the figure and began shooting at him. I heard a yelp and he took off, _upwards and towards me._

This time I was the one who yelped and shot upwards as the man zipped by and crashed into the _Tornado 5_'s right wing.

"Curse this darn steering!" I heard them scream.

"_Miley, there's a guy on your wing."_

"_No…get going!"_

Why is it always me who finishes the job? I landed next to the guy and raised my arms towards the bot's. _You think you have the power of chaos? You don't know the meaning of the word." _I closed my hands and the robot's crumbled and exploded.

The man on the wing stared at me in shock. He was wearing a robotic black and grey suit with the visor tinted, which made seeing inside difficult. Slowly, he spoke out loud. "Are…are you second Generation?" the voice was shaky but had a firm tone.

I could barely feel my legs as it was; so it wasn't helping me focus that he was asking questions. Miley answered for me.

"Sort of…we're the 'mini's.'" she said the sentence in disgust.

The man only nodded. "Doesn't matter if you're the younger ones, I still am grateful you came out of hiding."

There was something about his voice that was bugging me, but my ears had started ringing. I wobbled over to the cockpit and leaned against the glass shielding. "First time that's ever been said about us."

The man looked me over. "Are you alright?"

"Yes…" I muttered through gritted teeth.

I heard a small beeping noise and then a whir. "Ah…too much energy released. Let me help you with that." He turned a knob on his suit then placed a cold metal glove on my arm.

Almost immediately, I felt my energy stabilizing. After a minute I felt completely normal.

Miley looked impressed. "How'd you do that?"

The stranger gestured with his hands and began talking smart guy. Miley nodded in complete-understanding while I just sat there feeling very useless. After a very long explanation, Miley translated.

"The suit keeps chaotic energy inside and can charge up machines, or hedgehogs, with it."

I rolled my eyes. "That entire explanation narrowed down to a sentence."

She shrugged. "Complain to him, not me."

There was defiantly something vaguely familiar about this guy. He was a very tall, but very large man, who had smarts to match a Prower…and lived in a robotic suit, apparently.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners? I'm Miley Prower and the brooding girl is Nicole the Hedgehog."

"I do not brood!"

Miley ignored me. "Who are you?"

The man gave a sigh. "Had to be asked eventually…I will tell you on one condition."

I didn't like the sound of that. "What kind of condition?"

"Don't kill me until you've heard my story."

Slowly Miley nodded. "Sounds reasonable to me. Nikki?"

I nodded.

The stranger reached up and took of his helmet. Bright red hair and a very familiar face was what had been hiding under it.

I stepped back in shock and Miley made a sound that sounded a lot like a cat holding back a scream.

The man held out his right hand to shake. "Hello Nicole and Miley…my name is Ivan Robotnik"

**Yeah…you didn't see that coming did you? Neither did I. Ivan Robotnik belong to **_**'**__**nohailzone**__**'**_** who I would like to thank for 'giving' him to me. I was actually trying to figure somethings out for this story and Ivan solves most of them. So thank you! I hope I wrote him right…if not, sorry! Anyway, thanks for the support, but I still need some suggestions, not for characters but for improvements please. I want to know what I can do to make my writing better. I apologize in advance for the many typos. I know there are tons that I don't catch and I just feel awful about. Hope you all forgive me for it. Review please! You guy's rock!**

**Nicole: Who the heck is this guy?!**

**Me: He's important, trust me.**

**Nicole: Anyone who looks like Eggman is trouble.**

**Me: You promised not to kill him until you heard him out. Plus his name is Ivan, not Ivo. So stop being so bias.**

**Nicole: Don't you even think about making me sing in front of him.**

**Me: I'll do my best…**

**Nicole: And what's with the robotic suit and bazooka?**

**Me: You'll have to wait along with everyone else.**

**Nicole: I'm gonna kill one of these days…**


	16. Chapter 16

**Okay…I have this idea. Now tell me if it's a good idea or if not, I will not be offended. I loved how I got a character idea from a viewer and I thought, "Why not do this more often?" So I am thinking that not every chapter but maybe every three chapters or two I'm going to hold a small drawing. Every review you do **_**(one per chapter)**_** I will put your ID name in a hat per review. Then I'm going to pull one out at random and the winner can come up with a character for the story. Now just a warning: **_**they may not stick in the story.**_** I will do my best but I am no magician…Ivan was lucky the other's may be in there for a paragraph. I will have rules if I do this, but no need to go into that if this right now. What do all of you think? Let me know through reviews or PM and I'll come to a decision based on that. Let me all know and I'll update ASAP.**

**Anyway…**

**Meadow of Blossom Patches: I know Eggman's name is Ivo Robotnik, this guy is different. And I'm glad you liked the action…personal opinion, I hate writing the action scenes…as you all have probably guessed. There just so…confusingly complicated. But I'm trying my best to write them to the best of my ability.**

**Nicole: Are you done yet? I can't hold this forever… *is leaning against a wooden door preventing someone from coming in.***

**Me: I'm almost done; just hang on for a little longer.**

**Nicole: She's a lot stronger than I thought. Jr! Get over here!**

**DW: *muffled* You're calling Jr? Seriously, I'd call Arnold.**

**Nicole: *mumbles under breath* I hate it when she's right. Arnold! Annie! Come help me with this door!**

***Arnold walks in followed closely behind by Annie and Jr***

**Arnold: Why are we blocking a door?**

**DW: Let me in!**

**Annie: You were saying?**

***All three of them lean on the door preventing DW from entering***

**Me: Anyway, Review, review, and review! Seriously, I know that the first chapter has been seen by over 300 people…then the number splits in half then it splits again then it kind of stables out. There's a least twenty people reading this so where are the reviews? I need opinions! Please!**

**Nicole: *straightens up* She stopped fighting.**

**Jr: Good, I'm tired.**

**Arnold: Why'd she stop?**

**DW: *standing behind me* Why would I still be pushing?**

**Me: *whirls around* Wha-? How did…M- *DW slaps hand over my mouth***

**DW: Shhh!**

**Offstage voice: Sorry!**

**Nicole: Who in chaos was that?**

**Me: You will find out one day. On with the story before I kill DW.**

**DW: Review my friend's story please…even though she tried to cut me out of the author notes…**

**Me: ACTION!**

**Nicole's POV:**

"My name is Ivan Robotnik."

I wasn't sure if I heard him right. "Um…Robotnik…like Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik?"

Ivan threw his hands in the air. "Why does everyone think I'm Ivo?"

I took a close look at him. _"Gee…you have the same hair color, same smarts, and like to use robots...although no mustache...I wonder why?"_

Tentatively Miley raised her hand. "Um…you aren't Eggman then?"

He shook his head. "Nope…I'm his clone."

Now I'm not sure if Miley was more surprised or if I was more surprised.

"A…a clone? Like Nicole?"

Ivan stroked his chin in thought. "In a word; yes."

I held up a time out sign. "Hold it! You're Eggman's…clone. He has a clone? Since when?"

The scientist shrugged. "I'm not sure. The first five years of my life I was trapped in a room; never seeing the outside. Then one day I saw on the news that my…Clonee? What do you call him?"

I shrugged. "I have no idea…and I've been trying to figure that one out for the past eight years and still haven't found it. Please continue."

Robo took a deep breath. "My clonee, I guess, was dead, which meant I was now free…well sort of."

Miley tilted her head in a questioning manner. "Umm…explanation please."

"During my evolution stage, Eggman infused me with the tech to absorb chaos energy, but forgot to add gates and valves. This caused me to become unstable if I come in contact with chaos energy. This fault made Eggman lock me in an isolated room and observe remotely. After his death, I built a field where I could and can observe and create. One day I built a prototype exo-suit to negate the chaos energy absorption, and flew out to the outside for the first time. Best day of my life."

I scratched my head. "So…you aren't evil?"

Ivan gave a grin. "I like to think of myself as a villainous hero."

Miley looked at me and I just shrugged. "Meaning…?"

"I help people but only when I want too. And it's only certain people."

Slowly, Miley and I nodded in comprehension.

Ivan looked very pleased with us. "You kept your promise. Now you can try and kill me if you want."

I looked at Miley and she smiled. I glanced back at him. "Well you did save us so I guess we'll call it even."

Ivan smiled. "Thanks…I guess."

Miley had landed the plane by now and the three of us were now walking through the deserted streets.

"Why did you save us?" Miley looked a little confused.

Ivan looked at her. "Well you're second generation…I thought if anyone can save the world from this evil it would be you. I mean…I can destroy bot's but take out the leading lady…that's suicide."

We nodded. "Makes senses…but the two of us…take out Arianna? That's insane!" Miley looked a little panicked.

"No more insane then blowing up Eggman's ship with him still on it."

I exchanged looks. "He's got a point. But we have no idea where Arianna even is."

Robotnik smiled. "I do."

This caught our attention. "You do!?"

"Yep…and I can take you there." The Doctor placed his visor back on and typed something in. "I have the coordinates somewhere in here…give me a minute."

Miley looked a little too excited. "Let's head back to the _Tornado 5 _and you can punch them in the navigational computer!" She ran off towards the biplane without another word.

"She's an excited little one, isn't she?"

I nodded. "Part of the reason is Ari has her older sister. I think Miley is really set on saving her."

Ivan nodded. "She sticks up for her family."

"Yeah she does."

There was a pause as we headed over to join my friend.

"What about your family?"

I tensed up. "I don't have any…"

"Well I know Arianna sort of lost it but where's Shadow?"

I didn't answer immediately. In a barely audible whisper I replied. "He's dead."

Silence followed after that comment.

We arrived at the plane and Ivan quickly changed the subject by asking Miley about that _Tornado 5. _The machine talk allowed me to think about all that had happened the past few weeks. After five minutes of talking and inputting we were ready for takeoff.

Miley hopped in the pilot's seat while Ivan got in the back. Luckily, he was actually smaller than the original Eggman and fit without too much of a squeeze **(picture Eggman in Sonic '06…the only thing they actually did right)** I stayed outside and gripped the tail wing.

About five minutes of riding in silence, Miley turned on the radio. After a brief moment she began to sing along and was shortly followed by Ivan. I hummed, then softly joined them; soft enough so they couldn't hear me, but loud enough to hear myself over the plane's engines. We flew out of the city while singing and shooting robot's out of the sky with the _Tornado 5's _weaponry.

**Song: Escape from the City**

**Artist: Crush 40**

**(Sing along everyone!)**

_Rolling around at the speed of sound  
Got places to go, gotta follow my rainbow  
Can't stick around, have to keep movin' on  
Guess what lies ahead, only one way to find out_

_Must keep on movin' ahead_  
_No time for guessin', follow my plan instead_  
_Trusting in what you can't see_  
_Take my lead, I'll set you free_

_Follow me - set me free - trust me_  
_And we will escape from the city_  
_I'll make it through, follow -_  
_Follow me - set me free - trust me_  
_And we will escape from the city_  
_I'll make it through, prove it to you_  
_Follow me_

_Danger is lurking around every turn_  
_Trust your feelings, gotta live and learn_  
_I know with some luck that I'll make it through_  
_Got no other options, only one things to do_

_I don't care what lies ahead_  
_No time for guessin', follow my plan instead_  
_Find that next stage no matter what that may be_  
_Take my lead, I'll set you free_

_Follow me - set me free - trust me_  
_And we will escape from the city_  
_I'll make it through, follow -_  
_Follow me - set me free - trust me_  
_And we will escape from the city_  
_I'll make it through, prove it to you_  
_Follow me_

_Follow me_  
_I'll make it through,_

_Oh, yeah._

We broke through the city limits with barely a scratch upon the plane.

After about an hour of flying over living land we came to yet another dead part of the world. It was a giant field with…

"A robot factory?" Miley stared at the massive building in shock. "It would have taken years to build that thing."

I elbowed her gently. "It kind of did, Pilot Girl."

"Pilot Girl?"

I shrugged. "First thing that popped in my head."

Ivan looked out at the smoke rising above the horizon. "I've attempted break ins, but the place is to heavily guarded." He looked sideways at the two of us then got a mischievous grin. "Do you have a plan, Fluffy?"

Miley glared at him. _"What…did…you…just call me?" _

I took a step back.

"Well?"

The now dubbed by Ivan, Fluffy, took a shaky breath. "Stealth is the key. If Nikki can get close enough to deactivate the alarm then we may have a chance."

I looked at the setting sun. "Then I vote we wait 'til dark. It will cover better."

The two nodded in agreement. We worked our way back to the plane then set up camp. For the next few hours Miley and I explained what 2nd Generation had been doing the last two years. The scientist seemed to find the fact that the others didn't want us on their team unfair and dumb. When we came to the part when Shadow passed on he shook his head, "I knew that guy would go out saving someone." Ivan was a very good listener and had some pretty good advice.

Soon darkness had fallen and it was time for us to break into the factory. We piled into the _Tornado 5_ and quietly took off. From up in the sky, we could see Angel Island far in the distance, floating peacefully above the water.

**I'm going to stop here. Next chapter is the break in. Review please and tell me what you think of Ivan and the character drawing. I love how much feedback I've gotten back. I actually thought this story was going to be a dud. Thanks for proving me wrong. I'll continue depending on the feedback but once the reviews stop, I'm not continuing. Don't let this story die so quickly! Let me know what you all think! You guys are awesome! One more thing. I have a few endings for this story so I need to know; do you want a happy, sort-of-happy, or okay ending? You'll see...**

**Nicole: Yeah…I guess. Do you have an apple for me?**

**Me: *sigh* Next chapter Nikki. Say goodbye DW.**

**DW: See you next time!**

**Jr: I'm still confused on what was going on at the beginning.**

**Arnold: The author is giving hidden spoilers.**

**Annie: That's dumb.**

**Me: Not my fault. DW insisted. Review please!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Me: Hi! I've been really tired so sorry about not updating in a while.**

**Nicole: Does it matter?**

**Me: Well…yes. If I don't then someone will hunt me down or fill my PM bow with hate mail.**

**Nicole: Oh…I guess that's a good point.**

**DW: *runs into room* What did I- *runs into pole* OW!**

**Me: *face palms* Here we go again…someone go get a nurse.**

**Nicole: We don't have a nurse.**

**Me: We don't have one _yet_.**

**DW: *on the ground* Ow…what did I miss?**

**Nicole: Nothing really. Let's move on already. *leaves room***

**Me: She's right. Let's get on with the story already.**

**DW: You aren't in a good mood.**

**Me: I'm tired so I have an excuse. Action…**

**DW: You really are out of it...**

**POV: Nicole**

We started out with convincing Ivan to come with us into the dumb factory in the first place.

"Nope, I agreed to show you where the Leading Lady is, not help you defeat her."

Miley looked all pouty. "But…but…but…"

On the inside I sighed in frustration. This guy had been fighting these robots for the past year and knew the weak points and defense breakers. We sort of needed him…_sort of. _However, I hadn't been trained by Shadow for nothing. Quickly I shrugged. "He doesn't have to come."

"Thank you," Ivan turned around and began to walk away.

"Besides, he'll just get in the way."

Ivan whirled around. "Excuse me?"

"On top of that fact he's a clone of Eggman. How many times did he sit back and watch Sonic do all the hard work when he was in trouble? He's a lazy guy, so we can't force him to do anything."

"What do you mean by that!?"

"Also, look at him! He's useless. Stuck in a suit and only saves certain people. Personally I'm glad to see him go."

Robo guy stopped over to me and glared at me. _"Do you have a death wish?"_ he growled under his breath.

I peered around him at Miley. "One more problem: he's not smart enough to know how to get in and doesn't want to see us succeed where he failed."

I heard Ivan cock his gun. "I am smart enough! I've done it before!"

"Then why are you so scared of doing it again?"

"I'M NOT SCARED!" the clone roared.

Miley just looked at me like I was insane…and I probably was. This guy had been nice enough to help us out of a sticky situation and I was now insulting him in any imaginable way.

I smirked. "Prove it."

The Doctor then realized that I had just cornered him into coming. "You…you…you little-"

Miley cut in. "So are you going to help or not?"

Sighing deeply, Ivan replied. "I guess I don't have a choice."

I smirked. "What can I say; I'm my father's daughter."

Finally we got to work. Ivan would create a distraction outside while I snuck Miley and me **(HA!)** into the factory, invisible. Yes you heard it right; invisible. Chaotic energy rocks!

So sure enough, the crazy Doctor flew by jetpack to the north side of the factory and began blowing up, everything in sight.

Meanwhile, I pulled out the yellow emerald that we borrowed from the _Tornado 5 _and activated Invisible Chaos. **(Yeah…not my best name)** Quietly we snuck past every robot and deep into the factory without a single guard (robot…whatever) spotting us.

So breaking in: easy; finding our way around: not so much. We found our way to the main assembly hall and then got hopelessly lost.

"I think the computer room is that way."

"No we just came that way."

"We did?"

I groaned. "Yes, because you knocked over these barrels."

"Oh right…" Miley typed something into her electro-pad. "It's hard scanning this place because of the dumb security system." She pounded on the pad. "Chaos!"

I rolled my eyes. "Well you work on that, I'll find the main generator." Before the fox could respond I chaos controlled to the bottom level. The giant generator sat directly in front of me. And when I say giant, I mean like five of me tall.

"So how do I shut it down?" I asked myself alive. If I blew it up…well let's just say there wouldn't be any field left…not to mention me and Miley. I also didn't want Ari to know we had broken in and knew where she was…or that we were nearby. So how to do it naturally…

"_Come on Nut Driver! The answer's right in front of you!"_

I jumped and looked around. Nut Driver? There's only one person who called me that…but that's impossible. I inspected the control panel and found it locked. In frustration I slammed my fists on the keypad. Suddenly, a burst of chaos energy flowed through the system and suddenly, **ACCESS GRANTED** flashed across the screen. I looked at my hands then back at the screen. Okay then…time to get to work. Recalling all my 'classes' on computers I quickly ran through the files. Nothing interesting…nope…not what I'm looking for…nun uh…let's see…here we are! I finally found the blueprints for the dumb factory…from five years ago. I slammed the keyboard again. This place had been renovated since then because there's no way it's that small…and there was no generator room which meant no knowing where the wires to overload were.

"_You don't need wires! Just chaos spear the generator at the axle. This will cause the generator to get a greater force pushing it which will speed up the machines causing the whole factory to overload and have a huge computer crash. Come on Nut Driver! Think properly!"_

Okay…maybe it's not so impossible. I looked around the room in frustration. "Why do ghosts keep visiting me in my head? Can't you just show yourself Tails? And quite it with that Nut Driver thing, seriously. Do I look like a tool?"

"_Well Shadow's a weapon so…yes."_

"At least you're more talkative then a certain Echidna I know."

"_Get going Nut Driver. You got work to do."_

"Never mind," I sighed. Taking aim, I focused my energy for the spear and then threw. The aim was true. Sparks started flying and the generator started to spin faster as the chaos energy filled the thing. Then I realized that I really shouldn't be down there and teleported back up to Miley.

She jumped and almost dropped her computer. "Criminey! Don't do that Nicole!"

I gave a small smile. "Sorry, Ace."

Miley looked like she was going to continue but stopped short. _"Ace?"_

I winced slightly. Ops… "Um…yeah…I don't know, too pilot?"

Surprisingly, the fox shook her head. "Actually, no. I like it. It's…you know…me…and its way better than Fluffy." Her face scrunched up in disgust. "Anyway, while I downloaded the whole data base onto my electro-pad, what were you doing?"

A large explosion filled the air and the lights began flickering.

"Oh you know the usual."

"What did you do this time?"

"Nothing much…just overloaded the generator."

"WHAT?!"

Without another word I grabbed her arm and dragged her down the hall. We cleared the room just before the machinery went crazy.

Miley smiled as several conveyer belts went a little insane. "Oh…Ari is not going to like this."

Speaking of my sister…

Arianna came flying out of the doors on the top story. She took one look at the damage and then growled.

Quickly, I dragged Miley under a table before the evil hedgehog saw us.

Ari turned around and yelled at the top of her lungs, "COSMO! GET IN HERE AND FIX THIS!"

I felt Ace tense up next to me as her elder sister came through the same doors.

For a prisoner of war, she actually looked quite normal…except for the collar around her neck. It was black and thick and did not look very comfortable. The fox was holding a clipboard and seemed to be writing something on it. Without looking up she sighed, "What happened this time?" Cosmo looked up then yelped. "What the-?"

Arianna frown deepened. "This isn't one of your games?"

"No Mistress. You know I know better than to do anything like this."

"I guess you're right. Now get cleaning!" The ebony hedgehog whirled around and marched out of the doors.

In a voice that was soft enough to barely hear Cosmo groaned. "First she wants new robots, now I have to deal with this?"

Miley glared at me. "You're not helping my sister by blowing up a generator."

"I didn't blow it up, I overloaded it. There's a difference."

Slowly Ace shook her head. "Whatever," she crawled out from under the table and stood up. I quickly followed. We tip-toed around the giant room until-

"Oof!" Cosmo cried as she bumped into Miley from behind. She whirled around and drew a gun. "Who-? Miley…" Cosmo slipped the gun down then embraced her sister in a hug.

Since the night of being separated two years ago I hadn't see Miley cry once. She allowed the tears to fall now. The young sister buried her head in her sister shoulder. "Oh Cosmo…I missed you."

"I missed you to…"

"Um…hello?"

Cosmo released her sister and smiled at me. "Nice to see you to Nikki…something tells me this mess is your fault."

I shrugged. "Sorry. Seemed like a good idea at the time."

The fox chuckled softly. "Oh no…I'm very grateful you did. Now I'm going to be wasting time on this room which means fewer robots which mean…well you know. What are you two doing here, other than making a mess?"

Softly Miley explained our adventures since leaving Angel Island. When she explained that we were borrowing her plane she paled. "If you blow my baby up then you are dead."

Miley smiled and assured her we would be careful. As we told about our encounter with Ivan Cosmo only smiled.

"Oh yes I know him. You can trust him…he's making Mistress very angry by blowing up robots outside right now." She chuckled.

Miley and I exchanged a look, "Um…Mistress?"

Was it my imagination or did Cosmo turn a shade paler at the mention of that title.

"Um…it's a requirement for me to call her that…or I get punished." She gestured towards her arm. It looked as though it had burned many times over.

As I examined the wound, Miley's face grew angry. "That's it. We're getting you out of here. That collar should be easy enough to get off. Come here…" the young fox moved towards her sister when to our surprise Cosmo took a step back.

"NO!"

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

The fox blushed. "Umm…I mean no thanks. I can do a lot of damage from in here. Already, I've saved dozens of lives through my work in here. Besides…" She looked back at the door where Ari just left through. "It always pays to have a spy on the inside."

I'm not sure who was more surprised; me or Miley.

"But…but…but she's hurting you!"

Cosmo shrugged. "Actually, it's not that bad. It was worse at the beginning, but then I learned. Don't worry about me. I can get information to you guys. That's what Shadow wanted me to do…"

When the elder fox mentioned that I came to the decision. "Fine…but the moment you want to leave, contact us. We'll pull you out of here before you can say, 'Sonic the Hedgehog.'"

Miley looked like she was about to protest when a voice filled the hall.

"Cosmo! I need you!"

The fox smiled at me then hugged her sister one last time. "Stay strong. We'll be together again one day. I love you." Cosmo turned away and called out, "Coming Arianna!" She twirled her tails then flew up to the doors and left the room.

Sorrowfully, Miley sank to her knees. "Why would she want to stay?"

"I don't know…but it may be for the best. Let's go." I helped her up then pulled out the yellow emerald and teleported away. Leaving behind Cosmo was one of the hardest things I had ever done, but I knew it would come back to help us.

Ivan met us outside the factory about five miles away. "So how'd it go?"

I smirked. "Well thanks to our flying ace here we have Ari's data base and I may have disabled the entire factory.

Our new ally gave a large smile. "I knew you two would help out. Let's get my hideout. I have a computer we can use.

As quickly as possible, the three of us boarded the _Tornado 5_ and left the smoking factory long behind us.

As my thoughts wandered to Cosmo I smiled and sang in my head an old song of mine.

Song: Stand in the Rain

Artist: Superchick

_She never slows down.  
She doesn't know why but she knows that when she's all alone, feels like its all coming down  
She won't turn around  
The shadows are long and she fears if she cries that first tear, the tears will not stop raining down_

_[CHORUS]__  
So stand in the rain  
Stand your ground  
Stand up when it's all crashing down  
You stand through the pain  
You won't drown  
And one day, whats lost can be found  
You stand in the rain_

_She won't make a sound_  
_Alone in this fight with herself and the fears whispering if she stands she'll fall down_  
_She wants to be found_  
_The only way out is through everything she's running from wants to give up and lie down._

_[CHORUS]_

_So stand in the rain_  
_Stand your ground_  
_Stand up when it's all crashing down_  
_Stand through the pain_  
_You won't drown_  
_And one day, whats lost can be found_

_[CHORUS]  
_

Without thinking, I pulled out the yellow chaos emerald and stared into it. My red eyes stared at my reflection. For a brief moment I thought I saw a blue eye but when I blinked it was gone. Must have been my imagination…I looked out across the landscape. _"Wonder what the teens are doing…"_

**Sorry…not my best chapter. Review please! Yes you! The one who reads this story every time but doesn't leave an opinion…I know you're there. Anyway, thanks to all of your support and I've come to the decision to do the character thing, but I'm actually just going to ask for a character and then you all can send one in. Few rules:**

** one can be 'related' to anyone in my story. No second cousin's twice removed thing.**

** characters have to be rated 'K.' No exceptions. Sorry.**

** one can have Chaotic Abilities…that's going to come back to bite me isn't it?**

**DW: YES!**

**Me: Dang it. Those are really the only rules. Here's an assignment for you all. I need a minion for Arianna, someone who gets their hands dirty. I don't care why they're working for the evil girl, blackmail, money, power; your choice. I also don't care if it's a boy or a girl. I would prefer that they are not a hedgehog, but whatever. Thanks y'all!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Me: Yes! Two chapters in one day! Welcome back! The last time we saw our heroines, they had just seen Miley's (or Ace's) older sister as a prisoner of war. In a heartbreaking turn of events, they left her behind, very reluctantly I might add. They also met Ivan, the incomplete clone of Eggman, who is also a good bad guy. PARADOX! They were headed back to Ivan's hideout…but unfortunately we're not going to be talking about today.**

**Nicole: Wow…that was a pathetic intro.**

**Me: Hey!**

**DW: *rolls over laughing* You sounded like a news anchor!**

**Me: That was sort of the point…anyway. ChristianApe99: The character will **_**not**_** be neutral (and I remember that was a requirement when you first told me about them) and I already have an idea of how I'm going to use those two…it's just not going to be for a LONG time. Like...not in this story. _YES THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL_. Hope you all enjoy my story so far…but we're taking a different approach today.**

**Nicole: What's that?**

**Me: Well Nicole, you get the day off. We're handing the baton to Annie for the day.**

**Nicole:…I'm not sure if I should get mad at you or jump for joy.**

**Me: How about the latter?**

**Nicole: I'm out of here. Chaos-!*teleports away***

**DW: She took that a lot better than I expected.**

**Me: Let's get a move on. ACTION!**

**POV: Narrator (miss me?)**

There was no doubt about it. Annie was bored. She had already read every single book on the island…twice. She even went so far as to hunt down the Prower's books on mechanics and now had an okay understanding of how planes worked. After reading all the books she cleaned and reorganized the house…several times. When she finished that she proceeded to catch up on her school work that she had fallen behind the past two weeks. Yes…school work.

Unlike all of the other teens, Annie actually enjoyed homework. **(I know…that's so wrong. But I have friends that are like that and I love them for it)** She was the only one who actually continued her schooling after her parents passed…well her math, English, history, and all the other required subjects. The others dabbled in their favorite subjects/electives, but she was the only one who actually did all of them…and managed to find time for them.

**(For those of you who are wondering about the subject thing. Arnold: Boxing. Jr: Track. Annie: English Miley: Science Topaz: Drama and Nicole…I don't know if I should say…but I will anyway. History)**

Finally, Annie had run out of things to do. Nicole and Miley had been gone for a week now and there was nothing to do.

At the current moment Annie was flipping through her family's photo album for the hundredth time since her parents had died. She paused at every picture of her mother and father. Slowly she traced out the shape of both of them. The scrapbook ended with the family portrait that had been taken two weeks before the incident.

Sonic had his arm slung over his wife while Amy smiled at the camera. Jr stood on the side next to their mother while Annie stood next to their father on the opposite side. The family looked happy minus the fact that Jr looked a little nervous. The reason for that was about five minutes before the picture was snapped by Tails, Jr had drank all the lemonade and Annie threatened to smash him to a pulp.

The young hedgehog sighed, "I miss you…" Annie shook her head sadly. _"I didn't even get to say goodbye…"_

That fact was unfortunately true. The day that her parents died, Annie had chased her brother out of the house that morning for stealing and hiding her Extreme Gear. The twins had chased each other around the island the entire morning when a large explosion rang out. They had run back to their house to find the note that said they'd be back to. Shortly after, the two of them along with Arnold, Topaz and Miley set out off the island to find their parents. Literally a hundred feet from the island, Shadow stopped them and took them home. Annie still resented that.

The last words her parents said to her was something about not killing her brother. Annie also regretted that.

Back in the present, Annie felt silent tears fall down her eyes. Quickly, she wiped them away. "Now Annie, there's no point in crying over things that can't change," she whispered to herself. Annie stood up from the couch and picked up the album from the coffee table. As she turned to put the book back on the shelf, Annie felt her legs get tangled up and fell to the ground. The album went flying through the air and hit the ground about ten feet away from her.

Annie got up and brushed herself off. "Dumb table," she mumbled. Without any more tripping, Annie walked over to the album and picked it up. As she did, two large envelopes fell out of the pages. "What in the world?"

The girl leaned down and picked them up to examine them carefully. One envelope was addressed to her, the other had Jr's name scribbled across the front.

Slowly Annie walked back over to the couch. She tossed the other envelope and scrapbook aside. With shaking hands, the pink hedgehog opened the envelope and pulled out several pieces of paper with dates at the top. The first held her date of birth. It read:

_Dear Annie,_

_You've just been born along with your brother. I'm so happy that I want to cry. You're so tiny, but I can tell that you'll be just like me; fierce and kind, although your father disagrees. He hoping that you'll be strong and brave…of course you will but I can see more to you then meets the eye. There's something very special about your connection with your brother. As I'm writing this in the two of you are driving your father crazy. It's hysterical to watch. You will make a great team, just like your father and me. I love you darling._

_Love,_

_Mom_

The next letter was one year later.

_Dear Daughter,_

_My how one year has flow by! Your old man is so pleased with how you are growing up. You are a handful with your brother, but at least I do not have to chase you down at sonic speeds. I just have to deal with your hugs…just like your mom. Makes me smile every time you deliver one of those rib crushing hugs. I keep thinking you're going to pull a hammer out of thin air, but then I remember you can't do that. I'll be honest; I hope you get your mother's hammer ability. I think it suits you…and you will not want to sit on the side lines while your brother is fighting evil. You two are inseparable! We tried to move you two to different rooms and you wouldn't sleep. Finally, we had to move you back. It made us smile. I can't wait to see how you will grow up over these next few years._

_Love your super cool,_

_Dad_

Annie rolled her eyes. Only her father would sign that, it made her smile. Quickly she read through the whole stack of letters. They were written the same day every year; her birthday. Each year switched the parent writing it…and something told her that it was the same in Jr's envelope. She hugged the letters close to her heart as she read the one on her fifteenth birthday.

Her father talked about her constant fighting with her brother, how she was growing up way too fast for his liking and how proud he was of her. The letter closed with a simple love you and her father's ridiculous closer. Annie gripped the letters. "Oh Mom and Dad…" she sighed softly.

She flipped the page to re-read the first letter when she found another letter. "That's odd…"

_Dear Annie,_

_I don't know why I'm writing this today but I just have a feeling that I need too. I want you to know how much I love you and how proud of you I am. You and your brother will be an unstoppable team but only if you get along. Your father and I didn't always and still don't always get along, but we pushed through it. I also must speak out of concern for your…social life. I noticed that you don't really talk to anyone outside of our little family, unless you have too. Go make some friends. You never know, maybe you'll find a boyfriend. Your Father is now yelling at me for writing that. Oh Sonic…you'll be just fine. Just remember to have fun no matter what happens and stay close to your brother until you find the right guy. I love you so much darling._

_Love,_

_Mom_

Annie flipped the page and found one more letter from her father. As she read she felt her heart begin to break.

_Darling Annie,_

_As your Mother mentioned, I don't know why I'm writing today, but I just feel like I need to say somethings. I love you so much darling. You are strong, courageous, fierce, and kind young women. That doesn't mean you need a boyfriend. No need to rush…you're still young. You're mother is now yelling about how you're almost 16, but that's way too young for a boyfriend. I think that some guy will come by, but not 'til you're older. Remember, watch your brother. You two will always have each other. Someday you might both find someone else, but remember that he has been with you since day one. You need each other. He doesn't always know what's going on so keep him safe. You can do it. Remember, heroes get remembered, but legends never die. Follow your heart and you'll never go wrong. You have a lot to live up to, but I know you'll always help others. Love you my sweet girl_

_Love_

_Dad_

Annie felt the tears begin to stream down her face. She shook them off. "No need to get emotional, Annie," the girl scolded herself. One line on each letter stuck out to her. _"I don't know why I'm writing this today…"_

She frowned then looked at the neat date at the top of the page. Annie's heart stopped. She stared at the date on top of both letters…the day that they died.

Annie couldn't hold it back anymore. She burst into racked sobs, clutching the letters to her heart as tightly as possible. "Oh Mom…oh Dad…I am a failure to you," she cried out loud.

Annie looked out the window. "While Shadow went and cared for the world, I just hid on this tiny island. Even after he died, I left the fight for the younglings!" she wanted to slap herself for being an idiot. "We keep saying we're Team Sonic, but we're not! We don't protect anyone but ourselves!" the pink hedgehog realized and continued to cry. The truth hurts…especially if you were wrong.

Slowly but surely, Annie calmed down. Her parent's word's echoing in her head. One line from her father's stuck out to her hard.

"_Remember, heroes get remembered, but legends never die. Follow your heart and you'll never go wrong." _**(sorry...I just watched The Sandlot and I loved that line!)**

Her parents weren't just heroes, they were legends…and that meant they would never die as long as she kept them close. Annie looked up at the sky. "Thank you Mom and Dad. Thank you…"

Without another tear, the 17 year old women got up, placed the scrapbook and Jr's envelope out in the open, and then ran up the stairs to pack. It only took her a few minutes. A small backpack with all of her spare hammers and a few days' worth of clothes along with her hammer belt, her parent's letter and her favorite Extreme Gear was all she was bringing. Annie sprinted down the stairs and left a quick note for Jr. Excitedly; she ran out the back door and flipped up onto her board. With one last look at the small cottage she had lived in her entire life, Annie took off; flying towards the edge of the island.

After five minutes she found herself on the edge. Looking out at the setting sun, she pulled out one of her hammers, preparing for the onslaught of robots that were about to attack her as she attempted to leave. As she drew up her courage, she didn't see the figure watching her from the shadows. Annie was just about to attempt to leave when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She whirled around and swung.

"AK!" Arnold yelped as he ducked from the swing.

"Arnold! Don't do that!" Annie scolded.

"Sorry…I just saw you and figured out what you were going to do. Does Jr know?"

"Of course not. He would never approve of it."

"Neither do I."

Annie raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to try and stop me?"

Surprisingly, the echidna shook his head. "No…I just thought you should have this." Arnold reached into a side satchel and pulled out the purple Chaos Emerald. Tentatively, he placed it in her hand. "I think you can keep it safe for me until you come back."

The hedgehog stared at the gem in shock. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"I'm not exactly sure…I just think you might need it…I'm also hoping it will keep you here."

Annie smiled. "Sorry Arnold but I have to do this. You wouldn't understand."

"No I guess I wouldn't…but just remember," the echidna paused, "you will always be welcome here…so…yeah." Arnold was now a little red with embarrassment.

Annie smiled. The echidna had always tried to keep Annie out of trouble while on the island. He'd even beat up her brother for her when Jr was acting like a complete jerk…with Annie's permission of course. She felt the color start to build up in her cheeks as the echidna took her hand.

Gently, Arnold placed the emerald in her hand. "I hope you will return safely," he whispered. He then released her hand and the emerald; slightly blushing.

Annie smiled then turned to go but stopped.

"_I noticed that you don't really talk to anyone outside of our little family, unless you have too. Go make some friends. You never know, maybe you'll find a boyfriend."_

The hedgehog whirled around and hugged the echidna. "Thank you Arnold. You're the best."

Red-head gently hugged her back. Surprisingly, Annie wasn't crushing him with the hug. "Just stay safe…I don't know if I can take another death."

The hedgehog pulled away. "I'll do my best…but you know you can come help me…andNikkiandMileyofcourse." Annie rushed the last words.

The echidna hesitated. The offer was tempting…very tempting…but… "I have my own job to do…but I'll try to come someday. I promise."

Annie smiled. "Until then…" she quickly kissed the echidna on the cheek then ran to the edge and jumped off with her Extreme Gear. She dropped about twenty feet then slung the board under her and fell slower. Surprisingly, no robot's attacked the falling hedgehog. Annie reached the ground safely then zipped off in the direction the _Tornado 5_ was last spotted…leaving behind her family and a very stunned echidna.

The said echidna stood at the edge watching the pink girl until he couldn't see her anymore. He reached up and touched the spot where she had kissed him. Arnold's face broke away to a small grin. "Well…what do you know…" Without another word the echidna turned away and disappeared into the forest.

**Aw…cuteness! Or maybe it's just me…oh well. What do you y'all think about Arnold and Annie together? I think it's perfect…or maybe not. Opinion's, comments, concerns! I was going to have the radio in the back ground playing the song "Starts with Goodbye" by Carrie Underwood playing in the background, but I thought that might be a little too much. So review, Review, REVIEW! I love writing this! And get this, 40 people actually are still reading this story! I am so shocked and pleased! Love you guys! You're amazing!**

**Nicole: I think I'm going to be sick.**

**Me: Oh, it's not that bad.**

**Nicole: If you pair me up with Jr I am going to kill you.**

**Me: Relax…someone else is with Jr.**

**Nicole: Who?**

**Me: I'm not telling, because you'll kill me.**

**Nicole: It better not be Topaz…**

**Me: No comment. DW…anything else you want to add?**

**DW: THAT WAS SO CUTE!**

**Me: Other than that?**

**DW: THAT WAS SO SAD!**

**Me: Okay…all done. Hope you all enjoyed and continue to read. Hope the numbers will start to go up. Oh heads up…I am going to need another minion. I have one, but I need another one. All characters are taken into thought and I need another minion. You'll love the first one; I hope I get another just as good! Oh and I forgot one for rule.**

**THE CHARACTER HAS TO BE ORIGINAL. MEANING IT CAN'T BE FROM YOUR, YOUR FRIENDS OR ANYONE ELSES' FAN FICTION. Sorry…I can't do that…I would ruin the characters.**

**Thanks you all. Review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Me: Hello, hello, hello! How are y'all doing today? I am really happy because I actually got a good night sleep last night! Yeah me!**

**Nicole: Was that really necessary?**

**Me: Well…no. But I can do it anyway. Thanks to all of you who reviewed and DW since you're doing the authors notes with me, you don't need to leave reviews.**

**DW: TRY AND STOP ME! I like doing them!**

**Nicole: *face palms* Do I get to be in this scene or can I go?**

**Me: You only have to be here for the next five minutes so don't worry.**

**Nicole: Great! Let's get a move on so I can leave quicker!**

**Me: Hold on a second. Few personal comments**

**KrazyCat6167: Um…no comment. Thanks for the review! And for the character…you'll be seeing him in a few chapters.**

**Meadow of Blossom Patches: Thanks for the character and review. Quick comment, next time you do a character could you PM me it, **_**if possible**_**. There's nothing wrong with it being with the reviews, I just like having the characters being a surprise. But I love your idea…I think I just found a friend for Topaz…that won't be here for a while…this will be interesting.**

**nohailzone: Thanks for the character. I'll see what I can do.**

**Shadowsthebest:…WHERE ARE YOU? You haven't commented or PM me in forever? Are you still reading? Or did you just leave? I need some comments from you… since you were the first person to actually make a review. I'm just wondering what happened to you…that's all.**

**I also noticed that a few other people haven't left a review since the first chapter so I'm wondering where they are as well. I want everyone to be happy so I need as much feedback as possible. Sorry if this is sounding needy.**

**Nicole: Yeah you are.**

**Me: I said sorry! Let's move on before I decide to kill the hedgehog.**

**Nicole: You wouldn't**

**Me: I would.**

**DW: YOU'RE HORRIBLE!**

**Me: ACTION!**

Nicole's POV:

Okay…saving the world takes a lot longer than I thought. The first week we were out, Ace, Robo, and I were stuck in a hideout trying to decipher Ari's database…and by that I mean Miley and Ivan were trying. I was bored out of my mind. Every once in a while I had to leave and go blow up some robots, since they got near our base all the time, but other than that I was stuck just staring out the window.

Ivan's base was…some place that Miley and I did not want to ever see. Yep…the chemical factory…where first generation stopped breathing…yeah…not my idea of a good hideout, especially at night. When the wind blew through the cracks in the walls and window I couldn't help thinking that Sonic was teasing me. Miley didn't sleep for the first three days…part of the reason being that she needed to decode the information, the other being the fact that her father died downstairs.

After a week, two things happened.

The first one being Annie suddenly showed up. One minute I'm staring out the window at a wilderness, the next I see a pink blur smashing robots. Miley and I ran out to help with guns and chaos spears. When we finished, the hedgehog shocked everyone by telling us she wanted to help…and that she came by herself. We readily accepted her…since she begged us for forgiveness. I've never seen a 17 year old beg so hard. The poor girl was on the verge of tears. Quickly, we forgave her and moved on from the whole, 'I'm going to pretend you don't exist' thing. Ivan on the other hand, wouldn't let her forget about it completely. He scolded her for leaving us out, and not supporting or coming with us in the first place. The scientist finally stopped when Annie actually did burst into tears. Miley yelled at him for that, while I threatened to chaos spear him.

The second thing was I started having nightmares. Quick reminder: when Shadow died I saw all of his memories. So I saw Maria, when he first met Sonic, etc. But I also saw how first generation died…and being in that place seemed to awake the ghosts. Suddenly I found myself dreaming about the whole thing…and it's not something I ever wanted to see in full detail.

We had now been away from Angel Island for a week and three days. No Arianna showing up and trying to kill us…yet. A few robots attacked, but those that did didn't leave in one piece. Come to think of it, they didn't leave at all.

The computer data base had been cracked and we were now sorting through all the info…and had found nothing useful.

Annie and I had begun to try and be all buddy-buddy. The only thing in common we had found so far was that we both knew history. We discussed the history of anything we could think of until Miley told us that she couldn't take one for General 'this' or President 'that.' Then all three of us burst into laughter. Second Generation was starting to take a very flimsy shape, but a shape no less.

Narrator's POV:

Jr was never an 'up to date' kind of guy. He liked the outdoors too much. The morning on the day that Annie decided to leave, he had decided to take a break from sister. The speeding hedgehog ran to the other side of the island and spent the whole day messing around. When night came around he found a cave and slept inside. The next day, he spent the morning running and the afternoon hanging out with Arnold. After that exciting (and no sister filled) road trip Jr finally decided to go home.

When he arrived, the boy grabbed ten chilly dogs then hit the hay. The next morning, he went running then came back an hour later, expecting Annie to be up with breakfast made. Unfortunately, when he arrived, all he found was an empty kitchen. Jr waited an hour before he finally marched up to his sister's bedroom and pounded on the door.

"Annie! Are you going to come out of your room yet?"

No answer. He slowly opened the door and looked around. His sister's room looked normal, clean and tidy, but no sign of the said sister.

Jr walked back down the stairs in confusion. _Yes he walked._ That should say how confused he was. Blue-boy sat on the couch and looked at the clock. Ten am and no sister in the house…can you say weird?

"_Okay…where is she then?"_

I am sorry to report **(oh wait, no I'm not)** that it was then he finally saw her note. He picked it up then read it three times to make sure his eyes were working right. The note was simple, yet not.

_Junior_

_If you're reading this you finally got back from one of your ridiculous runs and realized that there's no food on the table for dinner. I'm writing this to inform you that you're going to have to start cooking for yourself. I have left the island to aid Nicole and Miley in their mission to defeat Arianna and restore peace to this world. I know you will be furious with me and I hope that you will find a pleasant solution to this predicament. I also pray that you will join me in the field of battle as soon as you can. Love you!_

_Annie_

Jr stared at the note, and then pulled out a dictionary to make sure he was translating the words correctly. Yep…that's Jr. The boy cursed his sister for leaving without his permission or even goodbye. He then glanced at the post script.

_P.S. - Mom and Dad left some letters for you on the couch. I placed them under the scrapbook. I know you will enjoy them, I know I do._

The hedgehog took one look at the envelope, then shoved it into the scrapbook and slammed that back into the bookshelf.

"_Sure…read letters. Yeah…that's not going to happen."_

Deep down inside, Jr really wanted to tear that envelope open and devour the words, but he convinced himself that it wasn't worth it. After an hour of trying to accept the fact that Annie was gone, the hedgehog sprinted off to the Master Emerald.

Surprisingly, Arnold was actually on duty. He looked bored to death, but he was standing guard. Topaz was also with her brother. They were sitting in an agreeable silence, because unlike the trouble-some two-some, these two siblings could get along quite well.

Anyway, Jr ran top speed into the clearing. "Annie ran off to help the mini's!"

Arnold didn't even open an eye. "Yeah…I know."

The hedgehog folded his arms. "What do you mean you know?"

"She left two days ago…or was it three?"

Topaz popped up from the ground. "Wait! Annie left this island?"

"Yes!"

"And you knew about this?" the bat pointed at her brother.

The lazy echidna opened an eyelid just a crack. "Yes…"

"Then why didn't you tell me?" Topaz scolded. She flew up to a nearby tree and pulled out a satchel. "You really need to tell me stuff like that!"

The two boys exchanged looks. Jr raised an eyebrow. "Um…why are so hyper all of a sudden?"

The bat glared at them. "I was waiting for one of you three to come to your senses! Seriously, you want to stay on this island and wait for Arianna to get impatient enough to attack here! Where's the fun in that! Now where's my Extreme Gear?" Topaz flew around the clearing.

Arnold held up his hands. "Hold it! If you wanted to go in the first place, then why didn't you leave with Nicole and Miley?"

Topaz gave her brother another look. "Um…do you want to spend heaven knows how long out there with Nicole and Miley for company? Now where is that board…?"

The two boys exchanged another look. Jr raised a hand, "So…you're going after her to bring her back?"

Bat girl threw a rock at the hedgehog, which he dodged easily. "NO! I'm going to help. So try and stop me." Topaz held her extreme gear board and had slung her satchel over her shoulder.

Jr opened his mouth to protest, but Arnold interrupted him. "Go destroy some robots for me, go it?" The echidna closed his eyes again and sighed longingly. "I hate this job."

Speedy boy threw his hands in the air. "Wait! You're with her?"

The siblings looked at the hedgehog in confusion. "Um…yes. Are you feeling okay, Jr?"

Jr did look like he was about to blow a casket. "No…I'm…not…okay. What is wrong with all of you?!" He defiantly looked ready to explode.

Arnold got up and stretched. "I'd go with her," he jerked his thumb at the bat, "but I'm not leaving you on this island all by yourself."

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"

Topaz rolled her eyes. "Bye boys. Have fun."

"Did you pack your emerald?"

The bat stiffened up. "Um…yes?"

"Good. Now go blow something up for me."

Quickly, she relaxed and smiled at her brother. "You got it." Topaz shrunk down her board then flew off. **(I know what you're thinking. 'Then why does she need a board?' In case she gets tired. Duh…)**

Jr looked furious, but decided to leave before Arnold got sick of him…and an emerald reacted to his anger. The hedgehog speed off to a certain cliff overlooking the lake. He picked up a small rock and threw it off with all of his might. "Ughh!" Inside his head, Jr couldn't understand his team member's actions. Helping the mini's? Who would do that? But in his heart, he knew that he was being an idiot, and yes, a jerk. Big time. But he had reasons…they just were selfish reasons.

For instance, we had the simple excuse of, 'I don't want to see anyone get hurt,' or 'I'm can't handle another death.' The worst one, but the one that popped up the most was, 'I don't want to do it.' Jr shook his head in frustration and confusion.

"I'm not my Dad, I'm not Shadow, and I'm not anybody. So why is this bugging me so much?" the confused boy asked aloud.

"_Because you know there right."_

"No that's not it."

"_Would you stop denying the truth, Sonic? Get a grip!"_

"I hate that name. Sonic's my dad, not me."

"_Then why'd they name you that?"_

"Could you shut it brain!"

Jr hated arguing with himself, but it was the best way to get things cleared in his head…except for this argument. He was now more confused. _"Why did they name me after Dad?"_

Now he wished that Annie was nearby because she would totally know. The teen looked out across the landscape. "I hope you're okay Annie…and Topaz…and Nicole, I guess."

"_What about Miley?"_

"What about that fox?"

"_Aren't you worried about her?"_

"No! Who cares about smart girl?"

But deep down inside, he really was worried about her…and everyone else of course.

**Aww…so cute! Well not really, but hey, I'm not really the best romantic. Oh well, I hope you all enjoyed that. Who else loved Topaz's reaction? What do you think Nikki?**

**Nicole: I think that I'm gonna kill you.**

**Me: It's not Topaz!**

**Nicole: And my best friend is supposed to fall in love with that idiot? You really have your work cut out for you.**

**Me: Yeah…but your love life is not much better.**

**DW: You can say that again.**

**Nicole: What love life?**

**Me: You'll see…in a different story.**

**Nicole: I hate spoilers.**

**Me: You would.**

**DW: Review, Review, Review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Oh My Chaos! Chapter 20! Can you believe it? Because I certainly don't…I could scream! AHHHHHH!**

**Nicole: *grips ears tight* OW! Could you calm down?**

**DW: *crawls under table to hide from the celebrating Oceanera* Let's just skip this and go to the story.**

**Nicole: Sounds good!**

Nicole's POV:

I'm not sure how many weird things I can take. Literally three days after Annie came aboard, Topaz suddenly showed up and started yelling at her friend for leaving her behind. She then proclaimed she was here to stay. Ivan didn't even flinch and just accepted the fact. However, Miley gave the bat a talking to about steeling things in the city. After that talk, I personally pulled Topaz aside and told her if I caught her with something stolen, I would personally chaos spear her through the stomach. She turned a shade whiter at that comment, so I knew she'd be fine.

Two days later, we finally got something out of the dumb flash drive. The five us gathered around the small electro-pad and Miley explained.

"There are several factories in the world, but the one Nicole and I snuck in was one of the small ones."

"The small ones! That thing is huge!" Annie interrupted. She had asked for me to take her to the factory the day before Topaz had showed up and was amazed at the sheer size of the building. Apparently, it was small.

"Continue please, Ace," I sighed in annoyance.

"Right, so it's one of the small ones, but there's a smaller one about 500 miles out of town. We can take that one out pretty easily. So here's the plan. Nikki-"

"Hold it! Who put you in charge?" Annie interrupted again.

Topaz nodded in agreement.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, you come up with the plan Miss, 'I'm smarter than a Prower in battle tactics.'"

Annie glared at me. "I was just going to say; Miley, you come up with the plan, but who's going to lead it?"

Everyone looked around at each other. The fox finally spoke up, "Um…I was hoping…Nicole, might do it."

I rolled my eyes. Not happening in a million years. "Yeah, I don't think those two would go for that…or Ivan."

"Actually, I think she's right." I really wish I had been drinking water because that would have been the best spit take ever. Annie and Topaz nodded in agreement with Ivan.

"Um…I…ugh…wha?" I sounded like an idiot stammering about in confusion.

"You're the best for the job. You've been trained for this sort of thing, right?"

I felt my head start spinning. "Um…yes but-"

"No buts!" Miley smiled at me then continued her briefing. "Okay so we're going to fly in the _Tornado 5_ to the factory. We'll reach it in about five hours. Once there, we'll wait 'til night fall, then attack. Easy as pie."

Everyone was nodding in agreement…everyone that is except for me. I was still confused and befuddled at this strange turn of events. Oh, and Ivan.

The scientist smiled. "Sounds amazing, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to stay out of this. I have my own schedule to keep so…" he stood up and shook our hands. "Thank you. I hope you succeed. I'll see you when you return." The man turned around then left the room.

I crossed my arms. "So much for I help you, you help me."

Quickly, Miley shrugged. "Ignore him. Let's get ready. We leave in two hours"

I walked away in a daze. _"Did I just get elected leader? Okay then…that's weird."_ I wandered the factory in a confused state of mind.

Topaz went to scavenge for any parts that Miley may need for some new gadget (you'd be surprised at how often she was successful) while Annie read a book she'd found in the abandoned building.

I made my way around the factory until I found _the_ room. Shivering slightly, I looked around. It looked simple enough. A laboratory with chemical jars and computers that were in a desperate need of an update was dusty and abandoned. The one thing that was odd about this room was the two black boxes that were on the edges of the room and the large blue round thing in the middle. I glared at that blue ball with hate and detest. My brain was getting scrambled around as Shadow's memories mixed with mine.

_He ran as fast as he could go. Shadow cursed himself for losing track of time, but felt as if it was necessary to train the girl's as much as possible. The black and red hedgehog arrived at the chemical factory Sonic had told him to meet him at thirty minutes earlier._

_The blue hog himself was waiting for him on a large chunk of metal in the large clearing._

"_Hey, sorry I'm late Faker."_

_Silence._

_Shadow felt a little confused. Usually Sonic immediately started bantering back at him, but now he just sat there with his head down._

"_Sonic, is something wrong?"_

_The hedgehog looked up. "They're gone."_

"…_Who's gone?"_

_Sonic sighed. "Tails and Amy…I don't know what happened. Tail's went to go check out the area where the accident happened and I got a radio call from him about five minutes later but it was fuzzy. I caught a few words, but nothing big. The radio went to static for a little while then…" Big blue stopped and looked at Shadow._

_Shadow had never seen Sonic like this. He seemed unfocused and uncaring, but Shadow needed to know. "Then…?"_

"_I heard Tails yell at me through the radio. He almost screamed, 'Sonic, it's a-" Then I heard three gun shots."_

_Shadow didn't move. He didn't need to._

_Sonic continued. "I was upstairs, but Amy was in the next room. She ran in and called me over the radio. She reported that he was…dead. Shot once through the head and twice through the chest. I told her to get out of there. Amy…then told me that the doors had slammed shut when she had walked in and was trapped. I ran down as fast as I could, all the while trying to tell her it'd be alright. I got to the door and slammed myself at the dumb thing. It didn't budge. I heard Amy scream my name, then more gun shots. Two slams later I found her on the ground…unmoving."_

_The blue hedgehog buried his face in his hands. "I was too slow…for once in my life I was too slow."_

_Shadow clenched his fists. "It's not your fault. I should have been here."_

"_You couldn't have known Shadow."_

"_That's no excuse. It's my fault. Not yours."_

"_No it's not. It's my-"_

_Suddenly, two bangs rang out across the silent factory. A roar of frustration followed shortly. Shadow knew that roar. "Knuckles."_

_Sonic nodded and zipped after Shadow. The two of them arrived to a laboratory at the center of the factory. Knuckles was sitting on the floor, cradling the broken body of Rouge that bat. He looked up at the two hedgehogs._

"_I…I…I don't know what happened. I heard voices then bangs and found her like…" the echidna chocked._

_Shadow wanted to release all of his anger on this echidna, but managed to restrain himself. Sonic kneeled down next to one of his oldest friends._

"_I'm sorry Knuckles. We'll find whoever did this…I swear."_

_Shadow wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry. Sonic the Hedgehog looking for revenge. There's something you don't see every day. His train of thought trailed off…_

"_Sonic, look behind you."_

_The hedgehog whirled around with the echidna._

_The threesome stared at the ticking bomb that was placed on the counter top…literally five feet from where they stood._

_Sonic broke the silence. "Sonic it's a-…it's a trap."_

_For once Shadow was angry for someone else. "Oh I'm gonna kill him."_

_Knuckles stood up. "We should probably get-"_

"_Don' move." Shadow tensed up. "Did you hear that?"_

"_Hear what?"_

"_That click…it sounded like…" Shadow trailed off as his eyes fell upon the blue circle in the middle of the room. "Snap."_

"_What?"_

"_Okay…no one move. We're in a force field."_

"_What?" Knuckles did not look happy._

"_Just trust me. I helped design it. Right now it's so flimsy that a baby could break it. But the moment you apply and force to it, it grows stronger. The harder you punch the stronger it gets. There's no escape once you touch it."_

"_Great Mr. Optimistic. How do we escape?"_

"_Didn't you just hear me? We don't…but you do."_

_Sonic looked confused. "What?"_

_Shadow felt annoyed. "There's one way one person can escape but it only works once. Chaos Control." Shadow reached into his pocket and pulled out a chaos emerald. "You have to have two emeralds to do it however."_

_Sonic pulled out another one. "So one of us leaves, the other two stay and…basically die."_

"_Yeah…not the best thing in the world, but that's the only option."_

_Knuckles sighed. "Well I'm dead. So it's between you two. Who's going?"_

_Sonic and Shadow pointed at the other at the same time. "He is." Then they glared at each other._

_Shadow glared at Sonic. "You're going."_

"_No, you are."_

"_I have two reasons why you should go. One, you are trusted by the public, the children, and anyone else better. Two, you will have more luck chasing this murderer because you were here the whole time. I have no idea what I'm looking for."_

_Sonic crossed his arms, careful to not move his feet. "I have three. One, you won't play favorites with the kids. Two, you are the better detective, Three, you have dealt with loss before. I would just be a mindless, uncaring slave to revenge. That's not a good idea and you know it."_

_Shadow knew Sonic was right, but that didn't mean he had to admit it. "Just go." The black hedgehog tossed the emerald to Sonic._

_He caught it easily and stared at the two emeralds for a minute. Sonic then looked up at Shadow with a determined glint in his eyes. "Alright Shadow…you take good care of them."_

_That statement left Shadow confused. Before he could straighten it out however, Sonic gave his signature smirk. "Think fast," then tossed the emeralds at Shadow._

_Instinctively, he caught them. Sonic said the two simple words and one teleportation later, Shadow was standing on a hill near the factory. He looked out towards the factory. "Why do you always have to be the hero, Sonic?"_

_The answer he got was a large explosion and a giant shock wave that knocked the ultimate unconscious for a few seconds. When he came too, the dust had cleared leaving the factory shaken and partly broken._

I snapped out of it and looked around the room. _"You died here…and you saved him…thank you, Sonic."_

"Nicole! We're leaving!" Ace yelled.

Topaz joined in. "Come on! Where are you?"

Slowly I smiled. Team Sonic was molding into a stronger shape, slowly, but surely.

I called out, "Coming!" Then turned on the spot and teleported to where they were waiting.

**Yea! I'm so happy! I just read all my reviews and they make me smile! Okay…comments.**

**DylanDamboise321: Welcome Aboard! Any questions or clarifying needed just let me know! And if you have a character for me, PM it to me and I'll do my best. I love Arnold too! I think you're right about the whole mature displeasure thing. As for Jr, he is probably getting yelled at by his Dad from where ever. I'll do my best with Topaz and she is basically as you described her…except she's not really a flirt. I hope you continue to enjoy the story!**

**KrazyCat6167: I'm laughing from reading your review. Really, Jr deserves what's coming.**

**Jr: Deserves what?**

**Me: You'll see…**

**Anyway, I think Topaz is coming along really well too. Keep the feedbacks coming!**

**Christian Ape99: Okay…longest review ever…even though it wasn't a review. Um…I'll try? Oh who am I kidding, I got nothing. Can you say, 'Indestructible?' He's got no weaknesses, a large background and appearance to explain, a ton of abilities, and a whole bunch of other facts. I am also looking for villains right now, not good guys. And how tall is he? That's as big as a house! How do I put that in there? I have plans for your other two characters, but you aren't going to see them for a while so please be patient. If you could find a way to narrow down this guy, make him shorter, and limit his powers and talents, I'll do my best. I like the back story so keep that, but seriously, you can't make every character indestructible. I mean, Shadow died in this story! He died! I have to have some leeway here. I'm sorry if this offends you, I mean no offense.**

**This goes for everyone. I need, name, age, rough idea of appearance, background, abilities, weaknesses, personality, species, and villain, hero, or neutral. You can add a little more, but I can't work with a character essay. Sorry…but it's too hard and difficult.**

**Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming! I officially have 10 people following my story! Sweet! You are all amazing! I'm going to try and post as many chapters has I can today so let's see how far I can get. I'm guessing three. Let's find out!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Nicole: What did you do?!**

**Me: I didn't do anything!?**

**Nicole: You took the last apple!**

**Me: Well, sorry but I'm the author so HA!**

**Nicole: You know I can still kill you, right?**

**Me: Unless I make you go insane in this chapter.**

**Nicole: You wouldn't…**

**Me: Try me…**

**DW: Here we go again…let's start the story before Nicole breaks out the chaos spears.**

**Nicole: I am gonna kill you!**

**Me: AHHH! *runs out of room* I love apples!**

**Nicole: Well, thanks to you, I do too! Now give me that Apple! *runs after me***

Nicole's POV:

Note to self: next time I teleport directly next to my team I need to make sure Annie's hammer is drawn.

"OW!"

"Well if you let me look at it, maybe it wouldn't be as hurting as badly!" Topaz yelled over the plane engines.

I grumbled under my breath. "You're making it worse. Where'd you learn first-aid?"

The bat frowned. "I didn't. I'm just trying to remember everything I saw my mother do." Topaz looked at my head again.

"Oh that's just great…"

Annie gave me a weak smile. "Sorry…you scared the heck out of me!"

"So naturally you swung your hammer and almost gave me a concussion…"

"I said I was sorry!"

Miley chucked to herself. "Oh boy…I think this is going to be fun."

I paused and cleared my aching head. "Does anyone here actually know first-aid?"

No answer.

"_Great…that's going to come back to bite."_

Miley broke the silence. "Well can't you do it? I've seen you heal with a chaos emerald before."

I rolled my eyes. "Chaotic Healing is a very painful procedure. I only use it in emergency. It also only works on cuts and broken bones_...and gun wounds." _I added in my head.

Topaz sloppily wrapped my head in a bandage. "How's this?"

"Horrible…I'm fine!" I reached up and ribbed off the bandage and threw it off the plane.

The bat crossed her arms. "Well no need to get all brooding and snappy." She reached into her side bag and pulled out the purple chaos emerald. "Here, use this during the mission. It should help with that head."

Very reluctantly, I took the emerald. _"At least she's trying."_

We'd been on the plane for the past three hours…and were very bored. Silence persisted after this argument. I was starting to see why Jr and Annie argued…it gave you something to do. Quickly, I shook my head. _"Did I just think that?"_ Okay…I needed something to do. Now. I looked around then my eyes fell on the emeralds. I smirked. Who says an Ultimate can't have fun. Quickly I closed my hands around the two emeralds and took a breath.

"_Everyone online?"_

Topaz literally fell of the plane. _"Gah! What the heck was that!?"_

Miley started laughing. Annie looked confused. _"That can't be right."_

The bat flew back up on her wing and glared at me. "What did you do?"

Ace continued to laugh but she explained in her head. _"Oh…oh I forgot you two didn't know that she could do that! Isn't it fantastic?"_ She continued to laugh.

Annie and Topaz shared a look. "So you were actually in our heads?"

"_Not really. But I could read your mind if I wanted to."_

The two stared at my unmoving mouth then looked at each other. In exact unison, "Don't even think about it."

"_I don't do that. It's prying information that's no mine. I'd only do it if I need information from others and even then I feel guilty about it."_

"_So you can hear me?"_ Annie decided to try to out the telepathy thing.

"_Yeah. I think it will come in handy during missions. No need for radios…but we might want them just in case."_

For the next five minutes the four of us practiced warnings and hand signals for random things like, "Hide!" but then the conversation wandered to other things.

"Oh come on Annie, who do you like!" Topaz kept pestering her friend about her crush.

"Nope, not happening."

"Oh come on…I'll keep it a secret…"

"You two know that Miley and I can hear you, right?"

Annie glared at Topaz. "Not happening."

Miley rolled her eyes. "Does it even matter?"

Unfortunately, Topaz took that in a different way. "Well then if it doesn't matter, who do you like?"

In that moment, I saw something that was very rare. Ace was nervous. "Um…well…I…I…I don't like anyone at the moment." She was slowly turning red.

Anyone from a mile away could tell she was lying. "Oh come on Miley, we won't tell anyone!"

She blushed. "It's no one really…it would never work out anyway."

The three of us pressured her to tell us for the next two minutes. Miley finally caved. "Well, I use to have a crush for the longest time, but I am getting over it. He's a jerk anyway."

Topaz motioned for her to continue.

"Um…I may have had a crush on Jr for the past few years…" Miley whispered.

I smiled. _Nailed it._

Annie just looked at her. "My brother, really? He's an idiot!"

"Is he really?"

Miley knew something that we didn't but there's no way she was going to tell us. I searched for a subject to leave my friend alone, but Topaz beat me to it.

She started laughing. "Oh that's good! Who do you like Annie, Arnold!?" the bat grabbed her sides as she laughed.

Annie laughed nervously. "Yeah…Arnold."

I caught the tone in her throat and raised an eyebrow. Topaz must have caught it too because she stopped laughing and just stared at her friend. "What?"

I started laughing along with Miley. "Oh you two will make such a cute couple!"

Annie laughed nervously but glanced at Topaz with uncertainty. The bat was still giving her a neutral stare. I felt really bad for Annie… and a little bit worried that these two would start fighting.

I didn't need to worry. Topaz's face broke away to a smile. "Are you kidding!? That's awesome! When all this junk is over, I'm setting you two on a date."

Annie sighed in relief. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves okay?"

I smiled as the two continued to talk about crushes and dresses, etc. Miley glanced at me and I nodded slowly. I then mouthed, "You never know…" She rolled her eyes, but I saw a small smile escape.

My brain started to wander to the times Ari had cornered to me and tried to force me to tell her about my crushes. The only problem was I never really had any. No one was, 'cute' and there really was no one to actually, 'crush on.' Ari on the other hand, fell in love with boys from every book she read. She had this crazy fantasy that the perfect guy for her would just fall out of the sky one day. I always laughed and told her it wasn't going to happen, but she just smiled and said that you would never know.

My trail of thought was interrupted by a certain hedgehog. "So Nicole, how long have you sung?"

I groaned. "Now you bring it up."

"Well why not now? Plus I'm out of things to do."

I pondered her question. "I'm not sure. As long as I can remember."

Topaz gave me a smile. "Want to sing now?"

"No."

"Oh come on! We'll all do it! Miley crank up the tunes!"

Miley laughed then turned up the radio. She started to sing along and was quickly joined in with Annie and Topaz. They sang mostly on tune…but there were a few slip ups.

After three songs I finally gave in. The four of us sang at the top of our lungs so many songs, I lost track.

After a several songs and annoying ads I leaned forward into the cockpit and reached into my pack. Within moments I pulled out a CD and popped it into the player. An old song of mine turned on and I sang along while the other three listened. They joined in on the final chorus.

Song: Titanium

Artist: David Guetta featuring Sia

_I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose  
Fire away, fire away  
Ricochet, you take your aim  
Fire away, fire away  
You shoot me down but I won't fall  
I am titanium  
You shoot me down but I won't fall  
I am titanium_

When the song ended the girl's smiled. "Did you write that?"

"Yeah…it was after an especially hard training session."

"Do you have anything else?"

I smiled. "Tons on this CD, but skip to track 8, I want you to hear this."

Miley leaned forward and flipped through. She started laughing when the music started. In those few notes, she knew what song it was and knew what I was doing.

**(Sorry, I had to do this song. Two songs in one chapter!)**

Song: My Best Friend's Brother

Artist: Victorious Justice

_I call you up when I know he's at home,  
I jump out of my skin when he picks up the phone  
Why can I tell if he's looking at me?  
Should I give him a smile?  
Should I get up and leave?_

_I know it's strange, I don't know what I'm thinking  
But is it wrong if I see him this weekend?  
I really hope I can get him alone  
I just don't, don't want her to know_

_Yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah yeah  
My best friend's brother is the one for me  
Yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah yeah  
A punk rock drummer and he's six foot three  
I don't want to but I want to  
'Cause I just can't get him out of my mind, and  
Yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah yeah  
My best friend's brother is the one for me  
B-F-B, B-F-B  
My best friend's brother, my best friend's brother_

Topaz started to laugh out loud. Annie just looked at me like I was insane, but then she started to laugh. The song continued.

_I kinda think that I might be his type  
'Cause when you're not around  
He's not acting too shy  
Sometimes I feel like he might make a move  
Is this all in my head?  
I don't know what to do_

_I know it's strange, I don't know what he's thinking  
But it is wrong if I see him this weekend  
I really hope I can get him alone  
I just don't, don't want her to know_

_Yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah yeah  
My best friend's brother is the one for me  
Yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah yeah  
A punk rock drummer and he's six foot three  
I don't want to but I want to  
'Cause I just can't get him out of my mind, and  
Yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah yeah  
My best friend's brother is the one for me  
B-F-B, B-F-B  
My best friend's brother, my best friend's brother  
B-F-B, B-F-B  
My best friend's brother, my best friend's brother_

_'Cause he's such a dream, yeah  
And you'd know what I mean  
If you weren't related_

_Yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah yeah  
My best friend's brother is the one for me  
Yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah yeah  
A punk rock drummer and he's six foot three  
I don't want to but I want to  
'Cause I just can't get him out of my mind, and  
Yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah-eeh, yeah yeah  
My best friend's brother is the one for me  
B-F-B, B-F-B  
My best friend's brother, my best friend's brother  
B-F-B, B-F-B  
My best friend's brother, my best friend's brother_

By the end of the song, we were all laughing. Annie wiped tears from her eyes. "Yep, that pretty much sums it all up."

Topaz calmed down. "Oh that is perfect. I'm setting that for your ring tone." Sure enough, the bat pulled out her phone and started to mess with the settings. Two minutes later she had changed the ringtone.

Annie rolled her eyes. "Are we there yet?" she asked in order to change the subject.

Miley played with the pilot's instruments. "Almost. We still have about 45 minutes to go. What do you want to do in the mean time?"

Annie, Topaz and I gave her a look. I leaned over and turned up the volume on my CD. The rest of the flight we rocked out to songs and laughed. I started to see that our team was growing a little stronger.

**I know…I know…you boy's don't want to read all that sappy romantic stuff, well news flash. I'm a girl! So I happen to like that stuff, to a certain point. Don't worry. Next chapter is action. Oh joy…I hate typing action so wish me luck.**

**Nicole: I hate romance. Why do you have me hate the Jr and Miley pairing in the author's notes, but in the story you have me like it?**

**Me: …that is a question I cannot answer.**

**Nicole: I hate you all.**

**DW: Review, review, review!**


	22. Chapter 22

**I want this story to be over! I know that sounds dumb, but I just want to get on to the sequel. So I'm going to have some time gaps, but it's only going to be weeks at the most. For instance: This is now three weeks after Topaz showed up. Second Gen has blown up several factories and Arianna now knows that they're off the island. Cosmo has been sending the team information from the inside and it has helped them pinpoint lots of useful tips. Like weak points in factories and robots. Jr and Arnold are still on the island, unfortunately. Ivan has helped a little, but mostly he stays at his base unless he has a score to settle. He is a little worried about the Nicole and Miley, but it's more like a big brother worries over his younger sisters. Topaz and Annie are working on double teaming while Miley has been giving Nicole flying lessons (she's now almost as good at the fox). They've met a few minions of Arianna. We're going to meet one at the end of the chapter. Sorry…but I need to get a few people over here.**

**ChristianApe99: I'm not offended. People have different beliefs. It's just part of life. Also, his abilities would be his powers. I need to trim down on them, so could I get rid of, the reading mind, magic, shape-shifting, and future telling? Then he could be like one of those really strong and really powerful superheroes, like what's his name? Guy who can't break his bones or skin…oh well. It would make my job easier.**

**Meadow of Blossom Patches: Thank you! I am glad I'm getting the personalities right! I hate those fanfictions that push on the border of the personalities of cannon characters. (I said that right, right?)**

**dragon soul45: Scourge huh? This is going to get interesting… Thanks for the review! And I don't have that many reviews. Only 60ish **

**KrazyCat6167: You'll see!**

**DylanDamboise321: I'll see what I can do. PS- I love the height comment. Made my day! Your character is amazing, but I'll PM that to you.**

**Nicole: Let's start already!**

**DW: I'm bored.**

**Me: Action!**

Narrator's POV:

Arnold was done. He was done with the master emerald. He was done with Angel Island. But he was especially done with Jr. The annoying hedgehog came over every day and complained. That's all he did. On the twentieth day of this, Arnold made up his mind. The next day, he got up early; packed the last two chaos emeralds (green and blue) and a few other provisions, put up the force field around the master emerald and turned on the old security system, and then waited.

At precisely, nine in the morning, a blue blur ran up to Arnold. "Hey dude, why are you standing here with your arms crossed?"

The echidna didn't answer. He just grabbed the blue hedgehogs arm and began to drag him back to the hedgehog's house.

Jr struggled to break free, but found Arnold's grip a little too tight. "Hey! What's the big idea!?"

"We're leaving this dumb island and going to find the girl's…and I am not taking no for an answer. So I suggest you go pack anything you want.

Jr sighed. "And why are we going after them?"

"BECAUSE TWO OF THEM ARE OUR SISTERS!" Arnold roared at the top of his lungs.

Blue jumped and ran the rest of the way to his house…with Arnold still holding on. The echidna released Jr's arm then shoved him through the front door. "Pack then get back out here."

Jr shut the door and mumbled under his breath some un-complimenting things about Arnold. He then moved about and grabbed his few belongings. Five minutes later, he was figured to go…well almost.

Very hesitantly and softly, Jr slipped the envelope that his parents had left him into his backpack. Even after three weeks…he still hadn't read them. But, he thought he should bring them just in case.

Arnold was waiting outside impatiently when Jr came out. "What took so long?"

"Well look who's the impatient one now."

Arnold walked up and dragged the hedgehog by the arm again.

"OW! Would you quit that out?!"

"No. Let's leave this cursed island already."

"Okay, okay, I'm going!"

After two years and a few months, the two boys were finally leaving their boyhood home behind.

Nicole's POV:

Okay…I've officially hit the maximum weird level. These past three weeks I've heard ghosts give advice (every single member of first generation, including Shadow) been elected leader, met a clone of Eggman, and blew up several robots and actually get thanked by humanity. So I wasn't really surprised when I heard small explosions coming from the junkyard at the beginning of the forth week off the island.

The girl's and I were giving the _Tornado 5_ a tune up while singing the newest song I'd written when suddenly,

"AHHHH!"

Annie stood up straight. "I'd know that scream anywhere…"

Topaz looked over at the rising dust cloud about a mile away. Several shots rang out and explosions shortly followed.

More yelling filled the air. Annie pulled out her hammer. "Jr…what did you do this time?"

Miley looked at me and mouthed, "Jr?"

I shrugged as more explosions. We stood there for a minute then all sighed. "We should go help them."

Miley twirled her tails, Topaz flapped her wings, and I focused my energy around me allowing me to float a few feet of the ground. One energy burst and swoosh! Off we went to go save the boy…or boys.

When we arrived, I almost laughed out loud. Arnold was attempting to punch a tanker (the omega models) to bits, but at the same time he was trying to help Jr who had somehow gotten caught in the robot's hand.

"ARNOLD! Watch it!" the hedgehog yelped as he attempted to spin free to no avail.

The echidna growled. "Well you wouldn't be like that if you hadn't been an idiot!"

Miley placed her hands on her hips. "Should we help them or just watch?"

Topaz looked around. "Well seeing as all the other robot's in sight, I think we got a little while."

So we situated ourselves as comfortable as possible and watched the show. It really was quite funny. At one moment the robot decided that Jr was a hammer. Arnold had to avoid getting hit by a spiky hedgehog.

Finally after five minutes it got old. I sighed and summoned some chaos energy. "Head or gun?"

Annie immediately responded with 'gun' while Topaz said 'head.' Miley looked over the situation very carefully. "I'm actually on Topaz with this one. If you hit him when Jr's near the ground, it will be the safest point for him.

I looked at Annie, "Sorry but you've been out voted." Without another word I threw the chaos spear at the robot's head. It exploded sending Jr and Arnold sprawling.

They stood up and dusted themselves off, and_ then_ caught sight of us.

"How long have you guys been there?"

"Do you have any chilly dogs?"

In exact unison the four of us looked at one another then simply said, "Boys." After that we turned around and started walking back to the hideout.

The boys caught up very quickly.

"So what did we miss?" Arnold asked his sister.

Topaz rolled her eyes. "Oh not much, if you don't count trying to save the world."

Those two started the usual banter of whose job is whose and all that other jazz.

Meanwhile, Jr immediately started to yell at Annie. "You left with a note! A note! What's wrong with you?! Why would you want to help them?!"

"Well news flash Jr! We aren't civilians anymore! We need to be the heroes! It's what our parent's would want!"

"Our parent's aren't here right now, Annie!"

"Well we are!"

Miley and I decided to run ahead. Listening to yelling twins is not my definition of fun.

When we arrived at the hideout, Ivan was waiting for us. "What was that?"

Miley dusted off her pants. "Oh you know the usual. Jr and Arnold being complete idiots."

I laughed. "We're going to have two more. Is that alright?"

The scientist gave me this look. I caught the message pretty quick. "No killing them."

"I'm not going to."

Miley looked a little bit frightened. "Um…what?"

We didn't answer.

The two boys arrived about five minutes later. Ivan was waiting to greet them at the door. We did a quick introduction then I dragged the girl's out of the room down to the _Tornado 5._

Topaz looked at me, then looked up at the ceiling. "Um…should we have left them up there?"

I looked at her then simply replied. "If we don't get it done know, it might cause problems in the future and I really don't want to do that."

Everyone nodded reluctantly and then we waited.

Narrator's POV:

Jr's first opinion of Ivan was insignificant. Sure he had a robotic suit and looked pretty big, but come on. This guy was a clone of Eggman…the guy who his Dad had killed. Not threatening.

Arnold on the other hand took one look at him and thought, "I'm in trouble." Ivan seemed like a nice enough guy, but that suit of his looked deadly…correction, it felt deadly. If he closed his eyes, Arnold could feel the chaotic energy surging through it. And when Topaz and Annie left after the quick introduction, he knew he and Jr were in trouble.

Ivan looked down at the boys in disgust. In the honest truth, he didn't really care about Topaz and Annie. They were nice and all, but he didn't exactly like how they'd come after Nicole and Miley had checked that the coast was clear. Miley was a good kid, smart but thrown aside like a bag of dirt…Ivan knew what that was like. You tried to be the best you could be and what happened? Everyone pretends you don't exist unless they have to. Nicole however, Ivan had liked her immediately. A clone like him…a mistake that everyone wished didn't exist…who people tried to kill even though they were trying to help them. He remembered seeing the news reports on Nicole, all fake and untrue facts. The two outcasts were actually the real heroes, not the other teens who hid on the island. All of this was going through his head as he stared down at the two boys.

Nicole had given a good word on Arnold, saying he was doing his duty. Ivan believed her, so he decided to take it a little easier on the nervous echidna. On the other hand, Jr gave him a challenging glare that showed how he thought about himself. Ivan popped his knuckles. That one was going to be fun.

Finally the scientist broke the silence. "So…you're Arnold and Jr. You're sisters have talked a lot about you."

Arnold gave a nervous nod. "Um…yeah that's us."

Jr just shrugged. He didn't want to be here and was planning on leaving ASAP.

Ivan invited them in to his laboratory. Correction, he ordered them to it.

Jr took his sweet time while Arnold moved quickly. Ivan reached the door second. The echidna and clone then waited for another minute until the hedgehog came up.

"What?" Jr asked when Ivan glared at him.

"Oh nothing…nothing at all," Ivan replied through gritted teeth. He quickly unlocked the door and ushered them in.

The laboratory was on the top floor of the fabled factory and had been the most spared from the shock blast. Most of the equipment still worked and it was quite clean. Half-built projects littered the tables and tools were laid on one of them, neat and organized.

Jr went over to half-built engine and began to poke around at it. "What's this thing?"

Ivan decided to have some fun. "Why it a special bomb and it's not quite finished…although it is armed."

The hedgehog quickly pulled away from the heap of metal. "You should warn a guy before he starts touching bombs."

"I thought it would be understood."

Wisely, Arnold stayed out of the conversation.

Ivan decided enough was enough. "But that's not why I wanted you up here. I wanted to talk to you."

Jr looked at his watch. "Can you make it quick?"

The scientist's face scowled. In three steps, Ivan had crossed the room, caught Jr by the arm and held him about five inches off the ground.

"Hey!"

Jr was raised to eye contact with Ivan. The hedgehog looked the guy in the eyes, and did not like what he saw. Anger and resentment shone bright in the scientist's eyes.

Arnold didn't move, which turned out to be the best choice ever.

Ivan turned away from the hedgehog and looked the echidna in the eyes. "I understand duty and responsibility, but that doesn't mean I like you. I suggest you walk carefully around me for your treading on thin ice. Am I clear?"

The echidna nodded his head. "Yes…sir." He swallowed, but his throat still felt dry.

"Good, you can go now."

Arnold turned around and ran out of the room.

"As for you," Ivan turned his attention back on the squirming hedgehog, "I have something to show you."

Jr continued struggling, "Um…I think I'm good…"

"It's not an option." The angry man dragged the scared hedgehog across the room. Ivan set his 'guest' down then tied the hedgehog's legs down. "You know who I am. So not going to go into how smart I am since you already know. But do you see this suit I wear?"

Jr just stared dumbly ahead.

"ANSWER ME."

"Yes!" Jr yelped.

"Good. Now I can do something very special with this suit. I like to call it, "perfect chaos sentry mode". It's where the suite turns black, purple, and gold after absorbing a large amount of chaos energy. Now I know how to do that quite easily. Do you want to know what happens when I activate this mode?"

"Not really, but go ahead." Jr had gotten some attitude back.

Ivan punched the hedgehog. "I become very powerful…enough to level a city."

Jr rubbed his face. "So what does that have to do with me?"

The scientist gave a smile. It never reached his eyes. "Men who abandon women are no men at all. If I find out you abandon them again, I will _personally_ come after you…and you will _pay_ for your ignorance and disregard for your father's legacy."

"My dad is not here, remember?"

"The only reason he's not here is because you aren't allowing his spirit live through you. You dishonor your father and your mother. You're a disgrace to your family and especially your sister. Annie understands your parent's wish…you don't. A hero is someone who helps others, not someone who helps themselves. I suggest you start acting like the hero you're supposed to be."

Jr felt like he'd been slapped…part of the reason was because Ivan actually had slapped him when he'd finished. But the other part of him felt like someone had dunked him underwater and held him there for ten seconds then brought him back out. He suddenly saw how clear the colors were and how bad the life he was leading was.

Ivan released the hedgehog and turned around. "You can go, but walk carefully from now on."

Slowly Jr reached into his backpack and pulled out a large envelope. With shaking hands, he pulled out the letters and began to read.

The first ones just told him about how much his parents loved him and about little experiences they had had with him. Little things were mentioned, his first medal in track, his first day in school, all of that jazz. On his fifteenth birthday, Mom talked about how big he'd gotten and about all the things she was proud about him. She also mentioned how he was getting to the dating age…of course.

He flipped the page and found the miracle letters…written on the day of their death.

_Dear Jr,_

_Not sure why I'm writing this but I felt like I needed to say a few things. I've recently realized that you've been trained by the best and practice with the best, but you aren't really a hero yet. Your mother and I haven't sent you on any missions or anything. And now you're fifteen! I started fighting Egghead when I was 10 (because I was that cool). We're going to have to fix that. There's more to being a hero than just fighting and defeating evil. You have to help people. That's the important thing. If you don't care or love the people you protect, then fighting is pointless. That's the important thing. When it comes between your life and their life, you choose yours. It may seem like a difficult choice, but it's easier when you're in the moment, not when you're reading about it. Trust me sport. You help people, and you'll be amazing, maybe even better than me. I love you son. Be strong; be brave; be true._

_Love,_

_Dad_

Jr flipped the page and found his mother's cursive writing.

_Sonic the Hedgehog Jr,_

_That name was chosen by your father on the day of your birth in hopes that you would follow in his footsteps. I think that you are succeeding in that hope. You're strong, brave, and good. I know that one day I'm going to watch you save the world and then yell to the whole world, "That's my boy!" I can hardly wait. You are an amazing boy and are quickly turning into a man. I can hardly wait! But you are growing up to fast for my liking, but I did marry your father so I expect to see things move fast…but not this fast. I feel as though my time with you is growing short. I want you to know that I love you Sonic. One day you're going to find some lucky girl who's going to love you just as much as I do. Well that might be impossible, but almost as much as I love you. Love you son!_

_Love,_

_Mom_

Jr stared at the paper numb. He stood up and quietly left a confused Ivan in his lab. Without a word to the other teens, he ran out the back door.

Nicole's POV:

Jr went missing for about two days after Ivan had a 'talk' with him. When he came back, I've never seen a guy work so hard. He apologized to us girls and Arnold for being a jerk and promised to be better. He didn't even protest when the Miley informed him that I was giving the orders. He just nodded and said, "Makes sense."

I couldn't get over the fact that all of second generation had changed in some way. It was really weird but really nice to be accepted as a part of the team. We blew up factories and robots like there was no tomorrow (and sometimes it felt like that was the case).

All in all, Second Generation actually made a strong, solid, and super team when we actually worked together. Arianna was not going to be happy.

Narrator's POV:

Saying that Ari was not happy was the understatement of the century. She was furious.

Cosmo hid behind a table as her Mistress had a fit with chaos spears. Summoning all of her courage the fox stood up and crossed her arms. "Are you done yet, my lady?"

Arianna straightened up. "You annoying girl! I wish I could just kill you! Ung!"

"Then why don't you?"

The hedgehog glared at the fox. "You know very well why I can't do that."

Cosmo didn't move or answer. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest, but she managed to not move.

Arianna waved her hand. "Send in Owen."

The fox nodded her head slightly then walked out of the room. Slowly she walked down the hall to what her Mistress called her 'waiting room.' Cosmo opened the door and called in. "Owen, Mistress would like to speak with you."

A skunk which was about 17 years old stood up and walked behind Cosmo all the way back to Mistress's throne room. As he walked, Cosmo couldn't help but glance back at the young man. She remembered how they first met; he was poor, unwanted, and miserable. Now, Owen stood tall and with purpose. But…Cosmo couldn't help but feel bad for the lad. _"If only you knew the whole story…"_

She halted in front of the door and knocked softly. "Mistress, Owen is here."

"Come in! Come in!"

Cosmo opened the door and Owen in his usual thin, tight-fitting, transparent exo-suit that protected him from most harms and most damage caused by chaos attacks with a black shirt and pant over it with combat boots with hidden knifes in them. He walked in with a strong step in each stride and stopped a few feet from his Mistress. Quickly, the skunk sank to one knee.

The said Mistress smiled at her most loyal follower, but frowned at the fox. Cosmo had been in a rebellious mood recently…and that needed to be fixed.

Arianna smiled slyly. "Oh Owen, I have a few jobs for you."

"What do you want, my lady?"

"After you're done here, I want you to find this new 'Team Sonic' and destroy them. Take as many robots as necessary just get the job done. If I know my sister, she'll hesitate in harming an actual person."

"As you wish," Owen replied in a monotone voice. "Is there anything else you need done?"

The hedgehog smiled again. "Yes. Before you do that, I need you to have a little…_chat_…with a certain fox."

Cosmo felt the blood drain from her face. But she forced herself to not blink or twitch. _"I have to stay strong. You can do this Cosmo. Remember, you're doing this for Ari. You can do this…"_

The skunk nodded then rose from his position and took the said fox firmly by the arm. He led her to a room just across the hall from the throne room. Within minutes, Arianna could hear the girl crying and trying not to scream, but failing miserably.

The hedgehog grabbed her head. To no one in particular she whispered out loud, "I just want this to stop, all of it. Make it stop…please."

The screams grew louder and more ragged as silent tears fell down Ari's face.

**Okay…anyone confused. Good! It's supposed to be confusing. Anyway, thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming! You guys are awesome!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Okay…so Ari crying, Team Sonic 2****nd**** Generation is complete, Jr gets a MAJOR Wakeup call …and I forgetting anything? …OH! I completely forgot to mention that Owen Backburn (the skunk) belongs to KrazyCat6167. Thanks for the character idea and may I mention, I Love This Guy! Perfect character idea! ….okay *takes deep breath***

**Nicole: You always forget the disclaimer.**

**Me: Well I find them pointless. It's called fan faction! I think it should be expected that we don't own any SEGA's characters. But if you insist, I don't own any of the original characters (although I think all of them are dead…wow I just realized that.) but Nicole and second gen belongs to me. Ivan is nohailzone's while Owen is KrazyCat6167's and the newest character is…drum roll please!**

**DW: *starts drumming a drum set***

**Nicole: Where did that come from?**

**Me: *shrugs* Is…1109? Okay then…oh it says he goes by Burn. Okay that makes more sense. And no, he's not a robot. And I know I have another guy hiding somewhere…hang on. *starts shuffling through papers and web pages.***

**Nicole: While she's doing that Burn belongs to DylanDamboise321. Thanks for the idea and DW hopes she gets him right. Okay then…review comments.**

**KrazyCat6167: I loved your review. It made me laugh out loud. And you are not that far off base. And yes, mini Sonic finally read those letters. As for why he's so stubborn…I can't really say. Let's just say he got both of his parents stubbornness put together.**

**Me: *still shuffling* Hold on…where'd he go? How hard is it to find a robot? Um… *pulls out a piece of paper.* Oh here he is. Introducing Navi? Okay then…he's also owned by nohailszone. Well what do you know? Okay then on to the story!**

**DW: Why don't you let me talk anymore?**

**Me: Because you give to many spoilers.**

**DW: There not spoilers!**

**Me: ACTION! …Oh wait. Before I forget, no more minion character's sorry. If you want an assignment, start thinking of mercenaries. Don't send them yet! Just start getting into a mercenary mood…well don't go become a mercenary…wait are there actual mercenaries, that aren't from a movie or video game?**

**DW: That is a good question…*ponders this***

**Me: Okay now…ACTION!**

Nicole's POV:

I hate robots; I hate Arianna; and I hate my life…not necessarily in that order.

Okay let's start from the beginning.

It all started about a week after the boys joined us. Everyone was getting along great; we were in the middle of a training session. Annie and Jr started fighting about a certain move.

"For the last time Jr! To get more speed I have to keep spinning, not swing as hard as I can at the beginning."

"Well that's dumb."

The argument continued when I suddenly felt like someone had stabbed me in the stomach. I managed to no make a sound and the feeling subsided. _"That can't be right."_

"It's called physics!" Annie yelled.

"Um…I run at the speed of sound. The day I use the actual rules of physics will be the day that robot's fall out of the sky."

Just then, a robot crashed through our ceiling and landed about twenty feet from the arguing twins. No one moved.

Jr glanced at his sister, "Um…let me rephrase that."

"Not in your life."

"Dang it."

I rolled my eyes. _"Focus everyone."_

"_I keep forgetting you can do that,"_ Arnold thought.

"_Quiet."_

I examined the rule breaking robot carefully. It had was a gray mangled skeleton with a missing left arm, glowing orange eyes, and was covered in robes and bandages. When it spoke it had a British-English accent with a metallic ring.

"_**Good morning…Team Sonic."**_

Of course that's when Ivan walked in. "Alright, who touched my lab equipment!?"

Everyone turned and looked at Jr. He stared back at us for a second then looked around dumbly for what we were looking at. Suddenly he realized who it was and pointed at himself. "Who me? No! I'm not an idiot."

"_Beg to differ on that last part."_

"_Hey!"_

Ivan then noticed the unwanted visitor. "Oh no…" the scientist stared at the robot.

The mysterious machine stared back at him. _**"Good morning…my old master."**_

Ivan stood up straight and crossed his arms. "Navi…you were deactivated. How are you here? What do you want?"

I held up a time out sign. "Hold it. You know him?"

"It's more than that. I made him during my…bad days. I deactivated him after my change of heart."

"_**Yes you did. Even when I asked you kindly to allow me to live on, you turned me off."**_

"I built you with the wrong purposes in mind. If I had kept you on it would have endangered innocent people!"

The robot shook his head. _**"How do you know that?"**_

Ivan gripped his fists. "I didn't. I just had to be sure."

"_**You really are evil. Luckily, I found a new master. She awakened my broken body and actually appreciates me."**_

I groaned. "Let me guess. Arianna woke you up."

"_**My Mistress is a very generous and kind lady who understands my pain."**_

"_Yeah, a lady who kills civilians!" _Annie crossed her arms angrily.

I had to agree with that. We all got over our confusion and got in our ready positions. Well everyone except Ivan. He looked at me then shrugged and left the room. This was our fight, not his. Well what did I expect from him?

Miley pulled out her twin guns and pointed them at the robot. "What do you want and make it quick."

Navi did a soft chuckle. _**"I just want revenge on my ex-master. But my Mistress wants something else. I'm just her eyes and ears. You should really worry about the ones behind you."**_

I realized his words just in time. _"Scatter!"_

Over the past week, everyone had perfected the art of following my orders…even thought it was still weird I just spoke in their head. Annie was grabbed by Jr and ran out of the room then came back in through the other door while Arnold rolled, Topaz and Miley flew, and I teleported…just in time too. The floor where we had previously stood was riddled in lasers just moments later.

"Dang it Navi! What did we say about telling everyone we're here?!" A skunk jumped out of the shadows with two pistols drawn. He looked mad.

The robot crossed his remaining arm, which looked a little odd. _**"You told me to distract them. That was all, there were no restrictions."**_

A different voice spoke out loud. "I don't know why Arianna keeps that thing around. I would've blown him up long ago."

One of the creepiest hedgehogs I'd ever seen stepped out of the shadows. He was gray with white highlights on his chest, and had a terrible burn mark that cover the left side of his neck and his shoulder. He was also very well built and covered in tiny scars. He had deep green eyes and long quills. The guy looked dead serious about the blowing up thing and had the weaponry to do it. To prove his point, he cocked the assault rifle in his hands.

Unfortunately, the skunk held up his hand in front of him. "Whoa Burn. We're here to get rid of the kids, not the robot."

"_**Your mistress is getting bored. She wants the job done now."**_

"We would have been done now if some robot hadn't spoiled our position."

That's when I got mad. Ari wanted a fight…she was going to get one.

"_Jr and Annie you go after the robot. I know he's a robot, but something tells me there's going to be more of them pretty soon."_

Miley nodded. _"I already saw a few fly by through a window."_

"_Alright, we're on it."_ Annie exchanged a glance with her twin.

I cleared my thoughts. _"Topaz and Arnold, you got Burn…apparently."_

"_Yes!"_

Arnold looked at his sister. _"Yes? What are you so happy about?"_

"_Well look at him!"_ The bat smiled at the hedgehog. _"He's like a movie star…"_

"_Focus Topaz. He's the enemy, remember?"_

"_Oh yeah. Why do the cute guys have to be so…oh."_

Annie and I gave one another a look. Topaz had a hopeless fantasy when it came to boys.

An annoyed Miley continued. _"So Nikki and I got the skunk? Great…"_

"_Actually, I got the skunk. If Arianna is watching us right now then a radio broadcast should be going on. And if we trace the signal…"_

"_We'll find where she's hiding! Nicole you're a genius!"_

Annie hefted a hammer. _"Can we fight now?"_

I looked at the enemy boys. "Um…quick question before we go all mano on mano. Who are you people and why are you with my sister?"

The skunk stood up straight. "Oh…you're Nicole. I have special order's concerning you. As for who we are; I'm Owen Backburn. My lieutenant is Burn the Hedgehog. I am Arianna's head general."

"I don't like the sound of special orders."

"It's not too bad. You get to live. Consider this a generous gift from our Mistress."

Jr shifted his footing. "Um…are we done talking?"

I motioned him to be quiet. "So why are you helping Ari? Power? Money? Or are you just dumb?

Burn stepped forward. "None of the above. Arianna gave us purpose. A reason to fight. Is that good enough for you?"

"Not really."

"It's not important," Owen growled.

Arnold looked at me. _"Now?"_

"_Now."_

Team Sonic launched into action. Jr and Annie charged at Navi, but found several crawlers and tankers in their way. Soon the sound of crunching metal was heard ringing through the air.

Arnold charged at Burn, dodging his bullets as if it was easy. He quickly punched the rifle out of the hedgehog's hands and continued to punch him. Burn blocked them easily…but he didn't see the bat sneak behind him. Topaz pounced on the poor guy and began to punch him. Burn shoved the bat of then began to defend himself from the two siblings.

Miley was having fun dodging stray bullets while hacking into one radio signal of the hundreds out there.

Meanwhile, I was having fun with the skunk. To be honest, this guy was difficult. He fought dirty. Hidden knives, small guns, he fought to kill. In fact, if he actually had been trying to kill me, I may have been dead. This guy was that good. I had to use every tactic that Shadow had taught me and even then I was having trouble. And the pain that kept popping up in my stomach was not helping me focus. At one point, Owen had me pinned against a stack of old boxes. I grabbed at my emerald then a short blast later, he released me with a staggering shove. Then we went at it again.

Finally I got the all clear from Miley. _"Found it."_

"_Great, now give me a hand!"_

Owen was now trying to cut my arm off with an eight inch knife…or at least cut my arm. Ace jumped up and fired at the skunk. He shrieked in pain and grabbed his right shoulder. "Why you little-"

I interrupted his sentence by hitting him with the butt of my gun. Owen crumbled to the floor.

The fox gave me thumbs up. I returned it with a small smile.

"AHHHHH!"

"ANNIE!" Jr ran over to his sister who was lying on the ground, unmoving. Arnold left his sister with the hedgehog and joined the brother. He checked the pink girl quickly.

I felt my heart stop has the echidna began CPR on the hedgehog. Jr just stared at the lifeless form of his sister. He clenched his fists and looked up at Navi. "Arianna I swear if she dies-"

Topaz knocked out Burn with a large pole she'd found a few minutes before and went to help her brother.

Meanwhile, I felt my brain begin to spin.

Miley shot the last robot's leaving the room with plenty of scrap metal.

Navi turned around and began to waddle out of the room. _**"You will not hold out forever. We will return."**_

Sure enough, Owen and Burn disappeared with a flash of light. The robot continued. _**"Miley Prower. If you want your sister freed then Arianna demands that you surrender to her within three days' time. On that day, if you have not surrendered, Cosmo will be executed."**_

I heard the clatter of metal as Miley's gun's fell out of her hands.

"_**Nicole, your time grows short. If you do not come to Arianna soon and pledge your alliance then you will die…"**_

That was the last straw. Without another word or warning, I teleported over to the robot and before anyone could register what happened I grabbed the robot's head and twisted. It came off easily and the glowing eyes died. Quickly and ignoring the growing pain in my adnominal, I dropped the head and stepped back. Summoning all the chaotic energy I could muster I raised my hands. The air crackled with energy and the metal glowed. As I closed my fists, the metal crumbled under the pressure. Soon all that remained of Navi was a ball of crushed metal.

Everyone, except Arnold and Annie for obvious reasons, gaped at me.

I felt completely drained, but I didn't stop there. Quickly, I marched over to where Arnold desperately tried to keep the young hedgehog alive. I knelt down and place my hands on her stomach. One quick shock later and Annie gave her first ragged breath.

Everyone just stared at me. I stared right back. "What did you want me to do? Just let her die?" That was the last thing I said before I blacked out from the pain.

When I awoke, a whole day had gone by. Ivan had recycled the parts of Navi and Annie had completely recovered…but she was still shaken from the experience.

She explained it to me the best she could. "I was fighting robots with Jr when one of them hit me in the chest with one of those dumb repulsion shots. I screamed, heard Jr yell, then everything went black. I thought I heard someone trying to talk to me. It sounded female, but not familiar. Near the end of the darkness I think I caught the words, 'Sometimes you have to make great sacrifices to keep the world safe…even when it means someone's life.' It was really weird…but it made sense. Although, I wonder who said it…it certainly wasn't my mother."

I asked to enter her memories of the experience, which she accepted very reluctantly. After the whole vision, I placed the voice, but didn't tell Annie about whom it was. It gave me chills to think about.

The hedgehog continued. "After that, I felt like I had just been electrocuted the woke up to find everyone gathered around me…well Miley was tending to your unconscious form, but everyone else was around me. They explained what happened. I still can't believe I was-" she choked on the words.

I simply thanked Annie then left her to ponder her troubles. Jr stood outside the door. "How is she?"

"I think she'll be just fine. She just needs some recovering time."

The twin sighed. "Of course. Everyone wants to see you down stairs."

Quickly, we made our way down. Jr and I arrived at the hanger where the bi-plane was kept. It had become our unofficial official meeting place. Everyone stared at me with there's arms crossed.

With postures like that, I knew what this was all about. "Oh boy…" I mumbled under my breath.

We stood in a circle about a foot from one another. Miley started the meeting, for once.

"Nicole…we need to know…how you did that and what was that bot talking about."

Topaz nodded. "Girl, I knew you could fly, but crumbling a robot into a ball that's two inches in diameter? That's something crazy…"

Slowly Arnold nodded. "We have to know exactly what you're capable in case…you know…something goes wrong."

"You mean if I become evil."

The four exchanged looks. Miley took a shaky breath. "It's not that we don't trust you…it's just that…"

"You don't trust me."

Jr nodded. "Pretty much. Look Nicole, I don't have any bad feelings about you from the past but right now…I don't know what to think. That much power in the wrong hands…I know Shadow could level cities, but what can you do?

I sighed. I knew this was going to happen one day, but I didn't think it would go like this. "I don't know my limit."

Topaz uncrossed her arms. "How do you not know?"

"Well I never actually tested it…"

Arnold sighed sarcastically, "Well that's good news."

"I'm not allowed to."

Now that sentence brought a new level of tension into the room.

"You're no allowed to see your limit?"

I shrugged. "Well I could, but I wouldn't survive for any longer than five minutes."

Miley gave me the look that said start-explaining-or-I-will-kill-you look.

I leaned against the plane and began. "I can't take off my inhibitor rings for any longer than five minutes or my energy will kill me. My body can barely maintain it…if I'm not wearing these I literally become a ticking bomb. Five minutes…you got an atomic bomb times ten, which I would defiantly not survive that."

Everyone stared at me…then took a few steps away from me.

I rolled my eyes. "Do I look like I'm going to take of these things?" I waved my hands in the air.

Jr frowned. "Okay…I knew you were stronger than Shadow in chaotic energy, but how much stronger?"

Deep breath and quick calculation. "Well if my calculations are correct…ten times?"

At that point every single person took a giant step backwards. "What!"

"How in the world did that happen?"

"What did you mean by if you did the calculations correctly?"

I held up my hands. "Let me explain. When I was created, Martha was in the middle of the chaos syncing when Robert's burst into the lab. He messed the whole thing up and the whole facility almost exploded. The two of them managed to bring the whole thing under control, but the chaos levels went crazy. I was only supposed to be two times as strong as Shadow, but thanks to Roberts, I was two times stronger and growing. My energy continues to grow and will never stop growing. I have to keep getting my inhibitor rings upgraded. That's what Navi was talking about. If I don't get them upgraded soon…well let's just say there won't be a bomb, but I will die an excruciating death. My energy will turn on myself and attack me on the inside killing me within minutes."

Silence followed that explanation.

Miley was the first to speak. "Okay then…so Cosmo's going to be executed in two days and Nikki has a death sentence." I could tell that she was freaking out, but managed to contain herself.

Slowly Arnold began to speak. "So how long do you have?"

Before I could answer I suddenly felt like my insides were twisting…and it was worse than yesterday. I slid down the plane clutching my stomach. As quickly as it had come, it faded. I looked back up at the four teammates. "Well judging by that last attack…I say about two days…that can't be a coincidence."

We all looked at each other. No one spoke for several minutes. Annie walked in to find us standing there not talking. Jr pulled her aside and explained everything to her very quickly.

She crossed her arms and joined the circle. "Well one thing's for sure, in two days this fight ends…for all of us. Are we agreed to that?"

Everyone nodded.

"Then I suggest we get ready for a final battle."

Annie, who had literally just died then came back to life, was the only one who was thinking straight. That fact woke me up pretty quick.

I nodded. "Right, so everyone stock on weapons, load your guns, check then double check your equipment. We leave in the morning to where the frequency of Navi's camera was broadcasting. Is that all?"

The five teen's all looked at each other. I could almost hear them as they urged one another with their motions and eyes.

"_You tell her."_

"_No, you tell her."_

"_I'm not telling her!"_

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. "One of you spit it out!"

They pushed Miley forward. "Um…well we've seen Ari in action and she has all of those robots and her lieutenants so she's not going to be easy to beat. So…the only way we can see any chance is if…you…kill her."

I stared at her. My brain seemed to be in a daze. Without another word I turned around and walked out of the room. I walked up to where the force field was. _"Kill my own sister? How can I do that?"_

Annie's messenger had been trying to warn me. _'Sometimes you have to make great sacrifices to keep the world safe…even when it means someone's life.'_

I really hate guardian angels at certain points…and I never even knew this one. Cream had died long before my birth…so why did she tell Annie and not me? I knew that message was meant for me, so why didn't she tell me personally? All the rest of first generation could…there was something missing in this picture. I shook my trail of thought. With a great reluctance, I knew that my team was right. In order to save the world and keep it safe…I would have to kill my own sister. Softly, I sang as I tried to hold back the tears from streaming.

**(Okay, I think this song completely describes Nicole. What do y'all think?)**

Song: Fight Song

Artist: Rachel Platten

_Like a small boat  
On the ocean  
Sending big waves  
Into motion  
Like how a single word  
Can make a heart open  
I might only have one match  
but I can make an explosion_

_And all those things I didn't say_  
_Wrecking balls inside my brain_  
_I will scream them loud tonight_  
_Can you hear my voice this time_

_This is my fight song_  
_Take back my life song_  
_Prove I'm alright song_  
_My power's turned on_  
_Starting right now I'll be strong_  
_I'll play my fight song_  
_And I don't really care if nobody else believes_  
_Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me_

_Losing friends and I'm chasing sleep_  
_Everybody's worried about me_  
_In too deep_  
_Say I'm in too deep_  
_And it's been two years_  
_I miss my home_  
_But there's a fire burning in my bones_  
_And I still believe_  
_Yeah I still believe_

_And all those things I didn't say_  
_Wrecking balls inside my brain_  
_I will scream them loud tonight_  
_Can you hear my voice this time_

_This is my fight song_  
_Take back my life song_  
_Prove I'm alright song_  
_My power's turned on_  
_Starting right now I'll be strong_  
_I'll play my fight song_  
_And I don't really care if nobody else believes_  
_Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me_

_A lot of fight left in me_

_Like a small boat_  
_On the ocean_  
_Sending big waves_  
_Into motion_  
_Like how a single word_  
_Can make a heart open_  
_I might only have one match_  
_but I can make an explosion_

_This is my fight song_  
_Take back my life song_  
_Prove I'm alright song_  
_My power's turned on_  
_Starting right now I'll be strong_  
_I'll play my fight song_  
_And I don't really care if nobody else believes_  
_Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me_

_Now I've still got a lot of fight left in me_

I felt the tears start to fall. "Oh Shadow…how can I save Ari and the world?"

No answer…just the wind blowing by as I continued to cry.

Narrator's POV:

Cosmo sat shivering in a cell block. She knew her time was running out…but she didn't regret a single minute.

The door opened and revealed Arianna. She walked in and knelt down next to Cosmo. When she looked up, her face was filled with sorrow; red and puffy eyes and tears still streaming down her face.

"I'm sorry…I can't…I can't…"

Cosmo reached out and hugged the teen. "Shh…Shh…it's okay…it's okay…"

Arianna sobbed into the foxes shoulder. "Oh Cosmo…"

The said girl stroked the hedgehog. "Everything will work out…you'll see Arianna."

The crying girl suddenly went stiff. Arianna pushed the fox away and smacked her across the face. "What did I say about calling me that?"

Cosmo put her arms up. "I'm sorry, Mistress! Please, have mercy on her!"

The hedgehog picked up the fox and began to beat her brutally. When she finished she dropped the now bruised and cut girl to the ground. "I can't wait to finally rid myself of you tomorrow," Mistress hissed. Then the hedgehog walked out of the room.

After the door shut, Cosmo looked up and brought her hands together in a prayer. "Oh please Cream. Help them understand. Please, tell them. You're the only one who knows. Just help her…please…" the fox curled up with her tails and began to cry just as the sun began to rise. Rise on the last day that Cosmo knew she had left.

**Oh I know. I'm a horrible person. Don't kill me yet. I have to finish this whole thing. We're coming to the end of the story and I'm happy about it. Then I can do the sequel! Oh…I'd like to apologize to nohailszone for killing his robot. It's just what came out and I need Nicole to do something terrifying. Okay…I know there's a lot of stuff in this chapter that gets confusing, but it will be explained later so just bear with me. Please review and tell me what you think. You guys are amazing! I'm guessing there will be about 3, 4, or 5 more chapters, but it may go a little longer. So we're wrapping this all up pretty quickly, but I thought I needed to get a move on. Sorry the minion's don't go into deeper detail about their past. I think I'll put it in the end maybe. I don't know; tell me if you're interested. Thanks! New second longest chapter!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hi everyone! I've been a little busy, but I'll try and finish this by the time I get out of school. Very soon. Okay comments on reviews.**

**DylanDamboise321: I don't know…but I don't envy the person who's locked in with him. *shivers* Thank you, I'm so glad I got the positive to negative feeling right. I love it when people compliment or criticize my writing, it helps me do better. Hope you are pleased with this chapter.**

**KrazyCat6167: Um…sort of. My suggestion, read the words carefully. I didn't make any typo's so everything is supposed to say what it is supposed to say. You won't understand 'til end. Wait patiently.**

**Christian Ape99: Check.**

**nohailzone: Ivan may do that. Not sure.**

**dreamWeaver: First of all, typo. Sorry. Second of all, stop reviewing!**

**("Make me!")**

**Meadow of Blossom Patches: Glad you liked it.**

**On with the story!**

**DW: Are we going to talk?**

**Me: No. I'm too lazy right now.**

**DW: Okay…**

Nicole's POV:

"_Okay…day of the final battle. Don't panic," _were the first thoughts I had when I woke up. Very slowly I got ready. I changed my style for the day. Black pants, black combat boots, red T-top, and of course my goggles and gun holsters. I also had a black satchel which contained six of the seven chaos emeralds. The other teens thought I should have a boost in power and had the bright idea of giving me the emeralds. In truth, they just sped up the dying time, which was why I kept the bag as far away as possible for as long as possible.

I stretched then stared out the window. The sky was clear and sunny…which just seemed so wrong on a day like this.

A soft knock came from my door.

"Come in," I called.

Ace poked her head in. "Hey…how are you?"

I shrugged. "Been better, but not too bad. How about you?"

"I don't have a death sentence hanging over my head."

"But Cosmo does. How are you doing?" I repeated firmly.

Miley shuffled her feet. I motioned for her to sit on my bed. Quickly, I pulled out my guitar. The fox's eyes widened when she saw it, but she didn't say anything.

I strummed the instrument. "I've been meaning to sing this to you for a while." I began to sing.

Song: Invisible

Artist: Hunter Hayes

_Crowded hallways are the loneliest places  
For outcasts and rebels  
Or anyone who just dares to be different  
And you've been trying for so long  
To find out where your place is  
But in their narrow minds  
There's no room for anyone who dares to do something different  
Oh, but listen for a minute_

_Trust the one  
Who's been where you are wishing all it was  
Was sticks and stones  
Those words cut deep but they don't mean you're all alone  
And you're not invisible  
Hear me out,  
There's so much more to life than what you're feeling now  
Someday you'll look back on all these days  
And all this pain is gonna be invisible  
Oh, invisible_

_So your confidence is quiet  
To them quiet looks like weakness  
But you don't have to fight it  
'Cause you're strong enough to win without a war  
Every heart has a rhythm  
Let yours beat out so loudly  
That everyone can hear it  
Yeah, I promise you don't need to hide it anymore  
Oh, and never be afraid of doing something different  
Dare to be something more_

_Trust the one  
Who's been where you are wishing all it was  
Was sticks and stones  
Yeah, the words cut deep but they don't mean you're all alone  
And you're not invisible  
Hear me out,  
There's so much more of this life than what you're feeling now  
And someday you'll look back on all these days  
And all this pain is gonna be invisible_

_These labels that they give you  
just 'cause they don't understand  
If you look past this moment  
You'll see you've got a friend  
Waving a flag for who you are  
And all you're gonna do  
Yeah, so here's to you  
And here's to anyone who's ever felt invisible_

_Yeah, and you're not invisible  
Hear me out,  
There's so much more to life than what you're feeling now  
And someday you'll look back on all these days  
And all this pain is gonna be invisible  
It'll be invisible_

I finished the song then looked up at Miley. "I wrote that after Shadow died. What do you think?"

Miley's eyes shone with tears. "It's perfect. I needed that right now. Thanks Nicole." The fox got up and flung her arms around me.

I hugged her back gently. "Just because we are the younglings, it doesn't mean that we're the weaklings. Remember that."

"I will."

The poor fifteen year old sighed. She looked up at me and smiled. "I came to wish you a Happy Birthday."

I face palmed myself. "I knew I'd forgotten something."

"Sweet Sixteen! I got this for you." Miley held up a watch. "It's a watch, but it is also a communicator, and a world map." She pressed a button on the side and sure enough, up popped a holographic image of the world. "And there are a few other settings you can do with that. I'll show you later."

I took the watch. It was silver faced with a black leather band. Quickly I put it on my left wrist just below my inhibitor ring. I smiled, "Thanks Miley. I'll keep it forever…or until the end of our lives..."

With that happy thought out of the way, we left the room and joined everyone down stairs. Annie had her belt stocked up and had a satchel with all of her spare hammers and was practicing her swings. Jr stretched out, trying to get the jitters out of his system. Arnold was practicing his sparring on a punching bag…the remains of four laid on the floor. Topaz was doing something similar but she was just kicking the thing and only had three shredded punching bags. Miley walked over and check the _Tornado 5_ for the hundredth time. Everything was completely locked and loaded…and practically silent. The only noise was the emerald siblings pounding away.

Slowly I walked over to the bi-plane, trying to ignore the seizures that had been growing worse all morning. As I rubbed my head, I quickly ran over the mental check list I had made yesterday.

"_Fully loaded guns…check. Extra ammo…check. Chaos emeralds…check. The twins, emerald siblings and a very smart fox…check. Check in on Ivan…not check."_

After checking all that off, I turned and walked out the door, through the hall, and into Ivan's laboratory.

First thing that happened: I got shot at…a legitimate shot from an actual gun. Instinctively, I ducked and the laser missed by an inch.

"Nicole! Next time you come in, knock!" the scientist scolded.

I frowned. "Well it would help if you had a flashing sign that said, 'Experiment in progress. Do Not Enter.'"

Ivan glared at me. "I think it's known that you should never enter a lab without knocking."

I just smiled back. "Well most labs have a glowing sign that says, 'Experiment in progress' that turns on and off."

After that sentence we had a glare off. I won.

"Fine, you win. Now what can I help you with?" The scientist leaned down and began to pick up the remains of the target he had been testing with.

Slowly, I leaned against a nearby counter top. "Oh nothing really. I just wanted to check on how you were doing."

I heard a clatter of metal and the shards of the target hit the ground. Ivan had his back to me. "You…wanted…to check…on…_me_?"

Silently I nodded. "Yeah, is that a problem?"

No answer. Ivan just stood there…which was kind of confusing…

"Um…Ivan? Are you still in there?"

The scientist took a shaky breath. "What? Um…yeah…I'm okay." He bent down and began to pick up the pieces again.

I walked over and leaned down to help. "Is everything okay? You're acting a little bit weird…"

He sighed then looked up at me. "I guess I'm not use to someone caring about me…it feels…strange." He trailed off then went back to picking up pieces.

We cleaned up in silence after that. As we did, I felt like I should tell him a story. After we finished, I began.

"There once was a girl."

Ivan looked at me, but didn't say anything.

I continued. "She lived in a loving house full of family and friends. One day she found out that this home and family was just an act. She was taken to her real family shortly after. This family was falling apart. No mother, a cruel father, and a confused sister. The girl couldn't understand why this had happened to her. She felt as though no one loved her in the world. All of her friends were fake, and her real family was horrible. One day, her father took the girl to an island. On that island she found another girl who had a similar problem. No mother, an uncaring father, and a confused sister. These two became great friends very quickly and found many things in common. But they couldn't see each other very often. After many years, the girl was still lonely at home, but she knew that there was someone out there who cared for her. Even though they were not always right next to each other, they knew they were never alone."

After I finished, silence followed.

Finally, Ivan sighed. "I think I know what you're trying to say…"

"Good, because that story was my story."

Silence followed for several minutes. "Fluffy was your friend…"

"And now you are too."

The scientist looked at me and smiled sadly. "No I'm not. I'm a mad man or a villain."

That sentence confused me. "What?"

"It's complicated. But I'm not a hero, I'm not your family, and I'm certainly not friend…I'm sorry." He turned around then walked into the back room. "Goodbye Nicole, send me a sign if you are victorious…and punch your sister for me."

"Will do," I responded a bit confused. After that confusing conversation I joined the rest of the team.

They stood at attention…sort of. They all looked tense and ready to move.

I looked back over my shoulder at Ivan's lab. Something told me that was the last time I would see the scientist in a long time. Quickly, I turned back to the team. "Let's move out!"

Jr smirked then gave a salute, "Sir, yes, sir!"

Annie hit him on the back of the head. "We're about to go into a battle we may not survive, and you're making jokes?"

"What? I'm my father's son."

We all looked at each other. I then looked at the ground and began to mumble under my breath. The other's followed suit. I don't know what they said and I'm not exactly sure what I said either. But I know it was something like, "Shadow, help me find a way to help everyone. Let your strength be my strength, your courage be my courage, and your abilities be my abilities. I'm sorry you can't be here with us, but I'll do my best to do what you would do."

I ended my little prayer and then counted to ten. "Alright, everyone in the _Tornado 5_! Let's move you annoying kids!"

Jr burst out laughing, "You sounded just like him!"

Shadow use to call us annoying kids every time we went on some sort of training mission.

Everyone else gave a small smile then climbed aboard the plane. As we pulled out of the hidden hanger, I caught Annie looking back at Angel Island.

"Is something wrong?"

The pink hedgehog continued to look at the island. "Do you get the feeling that you aren't going to see it again?"

I stared out at the horizon. "Yeah…and I hope I'm wrong."

We looked at each other and then stared at the Island until we couldn't see it anymore.

**Yea! Next chapter is fighting, fighting, and more fighting! Shoot me now…I hate typing these scenes…**

**Nicole: Which gun?**

**Me: I didn't mean literally! I don't want to die!**

**Nicole: But you just said-**

**Me: I KNOW WHAT I SAID!**

**DW: Okay…someone's tired.**

**Me: Glad someone noticed. I'm sleeping now.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Yea! I can post this even though I have a giant Homework load! I'm not sure if I should smack myself or cheer myself on. Also, most of this was written at 10 pm so it's defiantly not my best work…hope you all enjoy! You guys are amazing!**

**Christian Ape99: Okay then.**

**Meadow of Blossom Patches: I hope the action is up to your expectations. I hate writing it…so much.**

Narrator's POV:

The black and red hedgehog stood in the middle of the ancient ruins. Softly she whispered to herself, "It ends today…I'll make sure of that."

Cosmo sat tied up to a stone Colum about twenty feet from her Mistress. As slowly as possible, she picked up a rock and slipped it behind her back. Silently, she began to cut the ropes that bound her with a sharp edge of the gray rock.

Meanwhile, Arianna called Owen and Burn to her sides. "I don't want anyone to escape this area. Once they enter, they don't leave alive. Got it?"

The two servants bowed, "Yes Mistress."

"Good, because if you fail, you'll never see the light of day again…"she left that threat hanging in the air.

The two boys turned a shade paler. Before they could respond, a small humming noise entered the air.

The four animals looked to the sky and could see a small blue dot just over the horizon.

A small smile escaped the Mistress's mouth. "They're here. Position's."

The two boys took their spots: Owen stood to Arianna's right while Burn stood guard over Cosmo. Silence fell upon the clearing as the bi-plane flew closer and closer to the small group.

A certain fox began to whisper small prayers under her breath…for her sister, for her friends …and for Arianna.

Nicole's POV:

We could see the clearing from the plane a few minutes after they saw us. I could see Ari sitting on a throne like structure, but why my sister pulled us out to some ancient ruins was beyond me.

The flying fox glanced at me. "It's a trap."

Jr rolled his eyes. "Gee you think Einstein?"

"Don't stop fighting now. This is not the time or place." I looked down at the clearing again a little disturbed at how much I sounded like Shadow. From where I stood I could see Arianna, her skunk boy, the creepy (and according to Topaz, cute) hedgehog, and Cosmo tied up. It was the second time I had actually seen her in person…and she did not look good. Black eye, several cuts and scratches, and a whole bunch of other injuries.

Miley gripped the yoke harder.

"_Don't think about it. Just land us safely."_

Quickly, Ace looked at me then looked back at the ground, but began to put down the plane.

Annie looked at Owen and Arianna. "I think we're going to have to get past the skunk in order to get to Ari."

Arnold nodded. "You're right…but he's a good fighter so we need to be careful."

Softly, I chuckled, "That's the understatement of the day. He could beat me…and that take's skill. Warning: Owen play's dirty."

The team nodded in acknowledgement. Topaz kept glancing at Burn.

"_Don't even think about it."_

"_I hate it how you can do that…"_

Moving from the bat I looked back at Arianna. She stared up at me, and smiled. The smile never reached her eyes. I shivered slightly.

"So," Miley began, "are we going to talk this out, or just start fighting all willy-nilly?"

For the last time, Team Sonic 2nd Generation looked to me for directions.

"Why not? Topaz and Arnold, you're with me on Owen. Annie, Jr, Miley; try and free Cosmo then disable Burn and join us ASAP."

We all gave serious smiles and then stood in the ready. As we flew over the clearing I jumped off the wing and down into the clearing. Without waiting for a warm welcome I jumped at Owen. The skunk pulled out a knife and swiped at me. However, I was prepared this time. Knife met knife for a little while, until Topaz did a drill kick at the poor skunk. She kicked, flipped, and dodged like nobody's business. Unfortunately, Owen was a quick boy and light on his feet. When Topaz finally lost her balance, Arnold jumped in and suddenly we were watching a boxing match…that Arnold was barely holding out in. I rolled my eyes then ditched my knife and jumped in. Soon, the three of us were playing hit and run with the skunk…and were barely winning.

Meanwhile, Jr and Annie had jumped down from the plane and went straight for Burn. The troublesome twosomes were barely surviving the fight. Miley joined the fight just in time to save Jr from getting shot with an assault rifle. Gun vs. hammer, spin-dash, and gun was a very interesting battle, but evenly matched. They were using a similar technique that the emerald siblings and I were using, although Jr just kept hitting the guy.

After ten minutes of this, Miley finally hit the guy in the back with a stunning shot. Burn grunted then hit the ground. Without waiting to see if he was okay, the three fighters' ran over and helped us with Owen.

And the skunk prevailed against all six of us…which was very impressive…but very annoying. We jabbed, ducked, and shot like there was no tomorrow…and he still survived. I finally lost all patience and risked chaos control. The poor skunk froze in time and was knocked unconscious two seconds later by Annie's hammer.

After those two fights…we were exhausted with a capital 'E.' I could barely stand already because of the chaotic energy, but the fact that I was tired was not helping.

And we still had Arianna to deal with…oh joy.

The said hedgehog stood up and slow clapped. "Oh how wonderful. You all have gotten much better. Especially you," she pointed a finger at me. "I missed you all so much."

"You tried to kill me," I growled.

My _dear, dear _sister waved her hand dismissively. "Let's let the past be the past."

Everyone got into a fighting position, even though we were all exhausted.

Arianna walked forward down large stone steps and continued talking. "Oh my dear Miley, do you wish to allow your sister to be released? Then swear you won't fight against me anymore. What do you say?"

"I'd rather die a thousand times then surrender to a murderer and liar like you," my friend growled.

"And what of you my dear sister? I do not wish to fight you…but I can't allow you to stand in my way."

I tried to think of a good come back, but my exhausted brain came up empty. "What she said," I responded as I pointed to Miley.

Arianna scowled. "Do any of you surrender?"

Silence.

"Very well…" the hedgehog growled, "but you are going to regret the day you denied me." As she spoke Arianna's hands glowed with chaos energy.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Cosmo break free of her bindings, then run out of the clearing in the opposite direction of my sister. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of why because Arianna released a giant chaos blast sweeping every single one of us off our feet.

I was the first to recover and held up my gun…just in time to block the downward stroke of a knife Arianna pulled out. Quickly, I pushed it back then punched at her, but Ari teleported away before contact.

She appeared behind Miley, who ducked just in time at Jr's cry of warning. The poor fox avoided two more swipes, but was thrown back by Arianna, painfully. Ace went flying then hit the trunk of nearby tree and fell to the ground.

Jr roared in frustration and anger then charged at the black hedgehog. She simply judo flipped him as he ran and the blue speedster hit the ground painfully.

Next to charge was…shocker…Annie. She threw five exploding hammers, but none of them hit their target. Arianna simply teleported behind her and then wacked her from behind with the butt of her gun. The hammer crazy girl crumbled to the ground.

Arnold and Topaz tried to do a team effort and lasted the longest. Exactly 45 seconds…then they joined the others on the ground.

Let me be clear. We would have done a lot better if we had been fully charged and ready. But we just had a fight for our life and now had to deal with a highly chaotic angry hedgehog.

After the other's fell, Arianna turned her sights on me. I blocked and swung in desperate attempts, but none of them succeeded. Suddenly, Ari lunged and grabbed me by the arm. Quickly, a small chaotic battle ensued. The goal was to overpower the other's chaotic surge. Suddenly I felt my body get swung around and realized that Arianna had totally beat me. Next thing I knew, I was flying through shrubbery and hit a large ancient wall. Sluggishly, I rubbed my head and got to my feet.

"_Okay…I can't beat her in combat…I can't surrender…so that leaves dying or running. There's no way I'm running so…I'm gonna die…"_

With that fact sinking in, I was so shocked to suddenly here all of first generation (except Cream) yelling in my head.

"_Come on Faker 3! You're better than giving up!" (Sonic)_

"_Nick-Knack, I know you can do this." (Annie)_

"_You're stronger than her Cole! Fight!" (Knuckles)_

"_Don't let her take control. The world is counting on you, Nye." (Rouge)_

"_Every problem has a solution, think it through Nut Driver." (Tails)_

"Well easy for you to say. You're not the ones who are fighting this all powerful Ultimate." I mumbled aloud.

"_Nicole,"_ I felt my heart stop as Shadow's voice filled my head, _"I knew there was something wrong with this picture but I couldn't figure it out. I now know. Ari is the weakest of the Ultimate's…right?"_

I nodded slowly. "Yeah. How is that supposed to help…?" I trailed off.

My brain started to sort through every last memory of the limited knowledge I knew about Arianna's training. I foggily remembered Martha mentioning that she was doing well in her gym and combat fighting…but nothing on her chaos energy.

Shadow decided to be nice. _"Arianna could barely throw a chaos spear, and even then, it was the most pathetic ones I've seen."_

"_So Arianna shouldn't be able to do anything with chaos energy, but she's throwing spears equal to mine. This means…"_

"_She's drawing energy from something,"_ my mentor finished.

After that fact had been established, I didn't have time to think about it…because Ari had found where I had landed. We once again attacked one another with all we had (which wasn't a lot on my part). It ended once again with my sister beating me in another chaotic duel and me flying across the clearing.

As quickly as possible I began to run the possibilities. _"Okay…it has to be on her person. A piece of clothing would be dumb…maybe her shoes? No it would be something that no one would think of losing in a fight."_ I was momentarily blinded when Arianna punched at me. I dodged and growled in frustration. _"That dumb bracelet…it's reflecting the setting sun right in my eyes-"_ I cut off my thoughts feeling like an idiot. Since when was Arianna not wearing that bracelet? Never.

My sister attacked with another chaotic duel. This time however, I decided it was time to throw fairness aside. I put up a full powered shield then sent out a chaos blast making everything dusty. While Arianna was distracted, I teleported right behind her and grabbed her wrist. Before she could react, I had flipped her, pushed her against a wall, summoned a chaos spear, and then held it under her neck.

She just stared at me in shock which quickly turned into a smirk. "Well…go ahead. Kill me. I want to see you do it."

By this point, the rest of second generation had woken up. They just stood there and stared at me. Miley covered her eyes and turned away from the group. The other four just nodded slowly.

Meanwhile, first generation was yelling at me to strike at her down…all except for Shadow. He had fallen silent once again.

With shaking hands I raised the chaos spear over my head then slashed twice.

My sister opened her eyes and looked confused. "You missed."

I just smirked. "I never miss." Slowly I released her and held up half of her gold bracelet. The other half clattered to the ground.

Arianna stared at the half in my hand. "What did you do…WHAT DID YOU DO?!" She screamed and suddenly my sister started to convulse and she gripped her stomach. Blindly, she stumbled around then fell to the ground still withering. After another ten seconds she fell silent and began to breathe easier.

Silence followed. Suddenly, all of second generation and first generation began to celebrate. The twins grabbed each other's arms and began to jump for joy. Miley fell to her knees and began to cry. Topaz just flew in a few loops then landed next to her excited brother. Arnold hugged his sister in joy then strode over to the two twins. He gave Jr several pats (more like pounds) on the back then grabbed Annie. Shocking everyone in the clearing, (well except for Topaz) he kissed her…like legitimately kissed her; short and sweet.

After two seconds, he released her then marched over to me and shook my hand…hard. I just had to smile.

Meanwhile, Annie just stood there shocked. Jr looked like he wanted to punch and hug his best friend at the same time.

Topaz just chuckled. "About time…" The bat came over and shook my hand as well. "Well…that went a lot better than I expected. I thought at least one of us was going to die…"

"Join the club."

The bat laughed. "Not bad Nikki, not bad at all."

Jr was now trying to comfort a crying Miley. He couldn't seem to understand that they were tears of joy. "Miley! Miley! Ari's not dead! No one died! You can stop crying!"

The fox just cried harder. She buried her head into Jr's shoulder. The poor hedgehog just stood there, not knowing what to do. Very slowly and very softly he reached up and patted her.

I almost started to laugh at the expression on Jr's face.

Annie had marched over to Arnold and started pounding questions on him. He just rolled his eyes then took her hand. The yelling stopped soon after.

I looked around the clearing. "We should probably tie up the three trouble makers…" Since Topaz was the only one who wasn't occupied, she flew over and tied Owen and Burn to each other.

I walked over to Arianna and was just about to summon some chaotic energy when suddenly,

"ARI! Is she okay? You didn't kill her did you? Arianna! WAKE UP!" Cosmo came running from the forest. She ran past her sister, past her old team and past me. As she ran past me, she tossed me some inhibitor rings. "Gift from Martha," was the only explanation I was able to get from her.

The fox kneeled down and began to check the unconscious hedgehog for injuries. I was too shocked to do anything but put on my new inhibitor rings. As soon as I put them on I felt so much better. I sighed in relief.

All the while, Cosmo continued her check up on the very woman who tried to kill her.

**You think it's over don't you? Well, wrong! It's not done yet. You'll see… Review please! I'll post the next chapter ASAP. But it may be a while…sorry in advance if it is. This next part gets confusing…hope you all will enjoy it!**


	26. Chapter 26

**Okay...I'm tired so I'm just gonna do the review comments.**

**Christian Ape99: I think I said she was unconscious.**

**Shadowsthebest: There you are! And could you elaborate on that...because what's different?**

**Meadow: (sorry...I'm too lazy.) Thanks. I personally think that they're awful.**

Nicole's POV:

Um...I'm not sure if watching Cosmo help Arianna was weird or just wrong.

All of 2nd generation looked at the fox a bit confused. I noticed that the strange fox had a gun that hadn't been there before...a gun that looked disturbingly familiar.

Cosmo continued to gently shake Ari. "Arianna...Arianna...wake up..."

Slowly, Ari's eyes blinked open. After they focused my sister stared up at Cosmo. "Cosmo? What...what happened? Did they win? Or did she win? Are they dead?!" Ari sat up straight with a frantic look in her eye.

Cosmo gently, but firmly, pushed Arianna down. "Their fine...don't worry. No one died...calm down."

As Arianna tried to calm herself, the rest of us exchanged confused looks. The next sentence that came out of my sister's mouth didn't help my brain.

"Thank you...thank you so much for beating me." She slowly sat up and looked me in the eye. What I saw was confusing, but it made sense at the same time. Arianna's eye's looked broken like glass. She had this sorrow in her eyes that I had never seen before.

Everyone else was just as confused.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Um..."

"You guys heard that right?"

"What are you talking about?"

Ari stared at us then looked back at Cosmo. "How did they destroy her?"

"Nicole cut of the bracelet."

I held up a time out sign. "What are you two talking about? You're not making any sense! What's going on?"

The two girls continued to ignore me.

"That...that...that can't be right...she told me that she could never be destroyed."

"She was probably lying...don't worry Ari...it's all over."

My sister buried her face in her hands and began to cry.

Annie, Jr, Arnold, Topaz, and Miley looked confused. "Cosmo, what is she talking about?"

The fox just looked at them and mouthed, "I'll explain later..."

Meanwhile I was getting mad. "Um...Hello? Ari...Ari! Arianna! Stop your crying! What's wrong with you?"

Miley just looked at me kind of confused. "Um...Nicole? Are you feeling alright?"

I crossed my arms and glared at Ace. For some reason I really wanted to chaos spear her. "Let's see...my sister just tried to kill me and tried to destroy the whole world and suddenly Cosmo is playing nurse on her. No one else finds this really wrong?"

Miley shook her head. "No...I just think your tone sounds a little...off."

Ari's sobs suddenly stopped. She looked up at me and stared straight in my eyes. Was is my imagination or did her fur go a shade paler?

"Oh...no...no, no, no, No, No, No, No, NO, NO, NO!" She jumped up and grabbed me by the wrist. "GET OUT OF HER!"

Cosmo grabbed Arianna and dragged her back. "Ari, calm down!"

I heard myself mumble, "Insane worthless girl." In the back of my head I thought, _"Did I just say that?"_

After I said that the elder fox tensed. She turned around and looked at me. "Oh no. Nicole...don't you dare..."

"Don't I dare what?" I hissed.

Ari began to cry again. "Leave my sister...please...I'll do anything Mistress. Just leave her alone..."

My brain started to hurt. _"Mistress...who the heck is Mistress?"_

_"Some made up person. Ari is just trying to escape her wrong doings."_

Second generation stared at the two older's in confusion.

Annie stepped forward. "Who's Mistress?"

Ari began to talk in a shaky voice. "Mistress is some sort of spirit. She was in that bracelet. She possesses people and makes them do what ever she want's. I put on the bracelet about two weeks before I went 'crazy.' That wasn't me . It was Mistress. Sometimes she allowed me to come out and talk to Cosmo, but I was never given full control."

Jr raised his hand. "Um...what are you talking about?!"

Cosmo smiled. "I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. I've seen it first hand. One minute I'm talking to Arianna, the next thing I know, Mistress is yelling at me."

Everyone started talking at once. You couldn't understand a word from anyone's mouth for the next few minutes.

Meanwhile, I was starting to have a splitting headache...like someone had just slammed a hammer on my head.

Finally Cosmo did a taxi whistle. "Quiet!"

"At least it wasn't an air horn..." Arnold mumbled.

Everyone except Ari and Cosmo chuckled.

I smiled. "Oh, Shadow..."

_"Forget about him. He abandoned you when you needed him most."_

I frowned. What was wrong with my head.

Miley raised her hand. "So if this 'Mistress' exists, where is she?"

Slowly, Ari and Cosmo turned at looked at me.

My frown deepened. "Oh no you don't. I am Nicole."

The team nodded in agreement.

Ari stepped forward testily. "Do you hear a voice in the back of your head, telling you what to do? That's how she got in my head...and headaches. I had a ton of headaches when she first came around."

As those words hit me, my head suddenly felt like it was splitting open. A voice almost screamed, _"Don't listen to her! She's trying to trick you!"_

I felt a wave of dread wash over me. Miley looked at me in concern.

"Nikki...is something wrong?"

I didn't answer, but grabbed my head and closed my eyes. Almost immediately, I felt a wave of pain and nausea wash over me. "Ugh..."

I fought to open my eyes, but found it very, very, _very_, difficult. Finally, I managed to.

Ari walked over to me and took my hands. "Don't close your eyes. She fights for control as soon as you do."

Everyone froze. "Wait...you're telling the truth?" Topaz looked very confused.

I nodded slowly. "Yes...I...I..." another wave of pain washed over me. I fought not to blink. "What do I do?"

Ari winced. "You have to get her out of your mind. Which means...it's a battle of the mind."

No one moved.

Cosmo walked up and took my hand. "Can you do it? Mistress is a very strong...whatever she is. If she takes control, she may never let you go."

Slowly, I breathed deeply. "I think so. How do I do it?"

"Close your eyes and fall unconscious. Then you'll be on your own inside your mind. And remember...you can't let her take control..." Ari gave me a hug. "Please...I'm so sorry..."

"It's not your fault. I can do this. Missy will not take control."

My sister pulled away. "Missy?"

I shrugged. "I am not calling her Mistress...it's just wrong."

Without waiting for an answer, I closed my eyes. Pain immediately followed and I quickly blacked out. I heard Ari call to me as I lost consciousness.

"Be careful...I love you..."

_"Love you too Ari."_

**Dun, dun, dun! I bet none of you saw that coming.**

**DW: I did!**

**Me: Well, duh! You know the story! Review please! You guys are amazing!**


	27. Chapter 27

Narrator's POV:

Arianna held her sister's unconscious form in her arms. All she could think about was the fact that Nicole was fighting for control...control that she never should have lost.

All of second generation were in shock and confusion. It wasn't everyday that they realized the villain they thought was the villain wasn't the villain. They wandered off in separated directions, but stayed in the clearing. All they could do was wait to see who won...and they couldn't help Nicole, even if they wanted to.

After several minutes, Miley threw a rock..._hard. _"I hate being useless. Isn't there anything we can do!?"

Everyone looked at Arianna. She just shook her head. "No...I could try and help her, but...I need my strength...in case-" the poor girl broke off trying not to cry.

Cosmo toke the girl away from her sister. "Nicole has a strong mind. She'll be fine."

Everyone nodded nervously. But Topaz couldn't help but ask, "And if she's not?"

Ari looked at the ground. "If Nicole does not keep control...we have to kill her."

With that happy thought out in the open silence followed. Cosmo broke it rather quickly. "Couldn't we just cut the bracelet off...oh yeah, she's not wearing it."

"How does that work? Shouldn't this Missy girl be stuck in that cursed thing?" Arnold asked in frustration.

Ari shook her head. "Nicole destroyed the vessel allowing Mistress to escape and enter anyone of her choosing."

"But if we kill her, won't Missy just leave her and inhabit one of us?" Miley hugged her sister tight.

Cosmo looked up at the sky. "Yes...from what I can understand, the only way to destroy her is when she's in her physical form...which is impossible, unless someone can force her out of them or if the person she's possessing manages to keep her inside and...die."

The elder black and red hedgehog looked over at Nicole, shaking. "Which is what I'll do, if Nicole can't repel her."

No one spoke or moved for quite sometime. The only noise was Nikki starting to mumble under her breath.

Finally, Annie came forward and hugged Arianna. "You don't have to do that. You've been through enough."

"No," the clone of the ultimate life form shook her head. "This is my fault. I'm going to end it..."

Suddenly, Nicole began to thrash violently. All of second generation took a few steps back.

"Is she-?"

"No...not yet. But I don't think Nikki can keep this up forever." Cosmo looked over at her best friend. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm hoping that Missy will enter me after Nicole is...you know. Then I'm going to hold her inside and point the gun at me."

"You're saying you'll shoot yourself..."

"And-" Ari broke off, then controlled herself again, "and Nicole."

Almost immediately, everyone protested. The hedgehog held up her hands. "I already have blood on my hands...I can afford one more."

Cosmo continued her protest, "No you don't!"

"Yeah, Missy has blood on her hands, not you."

"Our parent's were killed by her not you!"

Cosmo interrupted again, "Yes, and-"

"You don't need to do this."

"Arianna, you are a sweet girl."

"Yes, and-" Cosmo was cut off again by the many more protests. The poor fox continued to try and talk over the teens, but they continued to cut her off. Finally, Cosmo had enough. She crossed her arms and drew a deep breath. "QUIET!"

Everyone froze and turned towards her.

"Now that I have your attention...No One Has Blood On Their Hands!"

"Except Missy," Jr added.

The fox shook her head. "Not even Missy."

Arianna gently shook her head. "Cosmo, just because you built the gun I used to kill doesn't mean that you have blood on your hands."

"I'M NOT SAYING THAT!" The fox huffed.

Now everyone was just confused. "Um...then what are you saying?"

Cosmo sighed then walked over to Nicole. The gently pulled the side bag off of the squirming hedgehog and pulled out the red chaos emerald. She then reached down and pulled out the gun from her holster. Arianna flinched at the sight of it, but continued to watch her friend in fascination. The fox turned the gun upside down and looked down at the bottom of her handle. She then slid the bottom forward, and flicked the hidden switch.

"Um...what's that?" Arnold asked.

"Reverse switch."

Miley's face furled in confusion. "Um...gun's like that don't have reverse switches."

Cosmo just looked at her sister. "You're right. I hope this works..." She tossed the red chaos emerald high into the air then aimed and fired.

Everyone threw their arms in the air and almost in unison yelled, "Wait!"

But it was too late. Laser met emerald and a blinding flash of light filled the clearing. When it cleared, nothing looked different. No one had been obliterated and no structure was missing.

Jr and Miley began to yell at Cosmo in unison. Something about shooting chaos emeralds being a bad idea.

Arnold looked around the clearing for anything odd. His eyes fell on the red chaos emerald...and the unmoving figure that was gripping it.

Slowly, everyone fell quiet and stared in shock and confusion.

It felt like time had slowed down has the figure slowly stood up and rubbed their head.

Arianna broke the silence first. "Shadow?" She whispered.

The ebony hedgehog looked at the teens. "Can someone tell me what the heck just happened?"

**I know...I'm so evil. Review please!**


	28. Chapter 28

**TheRealOTC: Thanks for the review! I loved it (it made me laugh so of course I loved it) You're new aren't on this story, aren't you?**

**Christian Ape99: Hope you enjoy.**

**Meadow: I laughed so hard at your review. Yes...he's alive! HA! I sent hints...like the fact that Nikki could hear him, but not Cream. It sort of question's wait...why can't she hear all the angel's? There's your answer. Hope you enjoy.**

**Let's just cut to the story so I don't get sued. I know you're all excited. ACTION!**

Nicole's POV:

Darkness. That was my first thought. It was dark, and cold, and really, really...weird. I was in my head...well sort of. As time passed I suddenly found myself in a familiar setting. The training room at the GUN facility I had grown up at.

_"How strange. Of all the places, in all of your memories, this is where you are drawn."_

I whirled around, but didn't see anyone. "Missy? Where are you?"

_"Missy?"_ a dark voice chuckled. _"Never been called that before...I like it...but Mistress is better."_

"Yeah, I'm not calling you that." I ran up onto the balancing beams, flipped to one of the higher ones, and then sat down. "Where are you?"

_"I'm all around. Not quite here, not quite there. But I know all about you, Nicole."_

"Don't try and mess with my head," I growled.

_"Too late. I'm already in your head. I know that you want to make your mentor proud, even though you won't admit it."_

I didn't answer, but teleported down to the bars and began to flip back and forth between the two of them. **(gymnastic bars. yeah those things)**

The annoying spirit continued. _"I also know you are tying to please someone else...someone from your past. Someone who you never learned their name."_

"Shut up." I grumbled then went to the mat and began to practice my flips and back hand springs.

_"I don't think I will. You also are angry that you didn't sense me inside your sister sooner. I am full of energy after all."_

Note to self: Never let anyone mess with my head again. They're annoying. As the spirit continued to talk, my movement's became more jerky and sloppy. "I really hate you, you know."

_"Of course I know. I know all of your head. Which means I know your weaknesses and strengths."_

I really wanted to smack this girl, but that wasn't really possible. "Why don't you show yourself you coward!"

_"As you wish."_ A small cloud of black smoke suddenly appeared. It swirled around and me, brushing up right next to where I was standing.

I winced whenever it made contact, slight pain spreading over me every time. "So...you don't have a physical form."

_"Oh no, I do. I just choose to not use it. Now where were we? Oh yes. You're afraid that after this adventure is over you'll go right back to be the mini. You're right you know. No one cares about you. They just use you for your power, then when you aren't of use to them, they become afraid."_

"Shut it!" I threw a chaos spear at the cloud, but it just absorbed it.

_"Oh...feisty little one. You know I wanted to be with you the whole time, but you resisted my influence. Don't you remember?"_

I felt my blood go cold as the first time Arianna showed up on the island popped into my head. "That was you? You were the one who tried to get me to kill Shadow?"

_'Yes, but you resisted me. I'm not sure how, but after that, I couldn't convince you. No matter how hard I tried...you resisted."_

I growled at the spirit. "You tried...to get me to kill my mentor?"

_"Oh yes, Ari is very weak. You on the other hand...are strong. And with you as my host, I can be unstoppable."_ The cloud charged at me, and somehow I knew what was going to happen.

I raised a chaos shield around me and the cloud charged into it. The smoke began to pound against the shield. _"You can't hold that forever! I will take control of you!"_

"Not likely!" I growled back. But deep down inside, I knew I couldn't hold this forever. I felt my shield begin to weaken as the cloud banged harder and harder.

Narrator: POV

"Can someone tell me what the heck just happened?" Shadow gripped the red emerald and looked around with his normal glare on his face.

No one moved...well almost no one.

Cosmo ran over hugged the hedgehog. "It worked..." she mumbled.

"What worked?" Shadow asked in a monotone voice.

"My gun...it worked...I did experiments, but I couldn't actually test it completely, since it might mean someone could die...so..."

"What?"

"Oh never mind. IT WORKED!" Cosmo jumped up and down. "Oh! I can do them all!"

Jr recovered slightly. "Wait, do what?"

The fox didn't answer but ran over and grabbed the blue emerald. She threw it in the air and shot it. Once again, a blinding flash of light filled the clearing.

However, this time when the light cleared, a blue hedgehog was lying on the ground, gripping the emerald. Sonic sat up and rubbed his head. "Ow..."

Annie almost fainted right then and there. Luckily, Arnold caught her since Jr was in no shape to do it. "Dad?"

Cosmo smiled then proceeded to shoot six of the seven emeralds and first generation popping out of every single time. Red: Shadow; Blue: Sonic; Purple: Amy; Yellow: Tails; Green: Knuckles; White; Topaz.

All of second generation just stared at their supposedly dead parents. Shadow just nodded. "Oh...now I get it."

Ari collapsed to the ground. "Well I don't!"

Cosmo took a deep breath, "Well I may have modified the gun...and the bomb...to not kill but rather transport the spirits into the emeralds. Didn't any of you hear your parent's voices in your heads?"

None of second generation answered, but first generation all blinked then looked at each other.

"Oh!" they exclaimed in unison.

Tail's nodded. "I wondered why everything was yellow...because that didn't seem right."

Sonic nodded. "I thought I was underwater, but then I realized I could breath."

"Oh, Sonic," Amy sighed. She shook her head at her husband.

Knuckles just looked at Cosmo in confusion. "How did you-? You know what, I don't want to know."

"You got that right, Knucklehead." Rouge put her arm through the echidna's arm.

After all of that, second gen finally got over their shock.

"Mom? Dad?" Topaz took a tiny step forward.

The two parents just smiled at the bat. Topaz practically flew at mock speed and threw her arms around them. Arnold didn't say anything, but joined the hug.

Annie dragged her still in shock brother to the two hedgehogs.

Miley just stared at her Dad like he was a foreign tool, unknown and complicated. Meanwhile, Cosmo walked over and hugged the original two-tailed fox.

Arianna took one look around, then promptly burst into tears. "Oh...oh...oh...oh my...oh...OH COSMO! Why didn't you tell me?!"

Cosmo walked over and gently hugged Arianna. "Because I knew Missy would hear. I wanted to tell you so badly...I wanted to tell all of you, but I couldn't risk it."

Sonic looked around the clearing. "So...who do we hit?"

Rolling her eyes, Annie sighed. "Some things never change..."

Everyone burst into small chuckles...that were suddenly interrupted.

A scream rang out in the clearing. Nicole began to wither on the ground and rocked back and forth. When Miley ran over to comfort her, she recoiled in pain.

"Ouch! She's putting off a ton of chaotic energy. I can't get close..."

First generation looked really confused. While Annie and Cosmo explained the situation to them, Arnold and Miley continued to try and get near, but to no avail.

Nicole gave another blood-chilling scream. Slowly, Arianna felt the silent tears fall down her face.

"She's...she's losing..."

After that comment, everyone fell silent. Different thoughts flashed through the team's mind's.

After another scream that shook the hearts of everyone, Shadow finally had enough. He marched over to the young hedgehog, ignored the chaotic energy that jabbed at him painfully, took Nicole's hand, then closed his eyes.

Nicole's POV:

I knew that I was dead. My chaotic level's were close to zero, I was exhausted, and every time Missy almost broke through I screamed in pain. Her punches had a pattern; soft, soft, hard, hard, REALLY HARD. The last punch was the worst.

I was about to sink down in pain...and Missy knew it.

_"You're strong...very strong. But you're not strong enough! What would your mentor say?"_

I glared at her. "Probably something about how annoying you are." I grunted at the next punch, but managed not to scream.

_"No...he'd say what a failure you are."_

"I was thinking something along the lines of; Don't you dare quit."

I turned my head and found Shadow standing right next to me. He gave Missy the usual scowl that showed disappointment. And nothing had looked so beautiful in my whole life.

Missy hissed then pounded on the shield again. I screamed in pain then dropped to one knee. I looked at Shadow in sorrow and fear. "I can't hold it."

My mentor, the very mentor who had tried to kill me at one point, then saved my life in exchange for his, knelt down next to me and took my hand. "Yes you can. You're strong, and I'm stubborn. I never left you...and you aren't going to leave me anytime soon. Now get her."

I looked at him...then slowly smiled. I stood up shakily then glared at Missy. Still gripping Shadow's hand I took a deep breath.

Shadow's POV:

I had never seen Nicole so determined in my life. She gripped my hand and drew in a long breath. The next words shook the ground.

"GET. OUT. OF. MY. HEAD!"

This time Missy screamed in pain as a giant wave of chaos energy blasted the spirit out of Nicole...and unfortunately, that same blast blasted me about fifteen feet away from where I had been in the real world.

I sat up and grumbled to no one in particular. "She's a lot stronger than I remember..."

A shock wave rippled through the ground as a black cloud of smoke was launched out of Nicole. It swirled around once, then slammed into the ground. The smoke turned to ooze, which turned into a blob, which turned into a lioness who was wearing a blue silk dress.

The cat sat up and glared at all of us. "So...you are hard to kill after all."

**AHHHHH! I know I'm so mean! But don't worry! I'm almost done! Now I need to finish my homework...naughty me... (;**


	29. Chapter 29

**Okay...I'll make this quick.**

**TheRealOTC: 1. Yes I meant Rouge. I do that sometimes. Sorry. 2. I will be asking for Mercenary OCs in the next story, but they will not be in the sequel. They'll be in the sequel to the sequel. Yes I'm doing that...hopefully. 3. Yes there will be a sequel, but it's not what you think...at least the first one. I will have a lot of stories connected and off of this one. **

**Meadow: Yes, I know. I'm so mean. I was actually considering only bring back Shadow, but I decided to just bring them all back. I can change it if you want.**

**Shadowsthebest: Yes...yes I did. LOL.**

**Christian Ape99: I did?**

**Okay...now let's get to the story. PS- I now officialy have 11 followers and 9 favorites. Thanks to y'all!**

Narrator's POV:

No one moved. Both teams just stared at this new comer. Everyone's thoughts moved to fast to comprehend what they were thinking. The lioness just glared at all of them, partly in anger, partly in confusion.

"Didn't I kill all of you?" she growled.

Ari took a shaky step forward. "Um...Miss...Miss...Mistress?"

The lion smiled an evil smile. "Oh...my sweet Arianna. Did you miss me?"

The hedgehog took a few steps back.

Shadow teleported in between his pupil and the evil...whatever it was. "What do you want? Why aren't you dead yet?" he growled in frustration.

Missy just smiled bigger. "Why my dear Shadow? Don't you know?"

"Not really, but I want to."

"Secret." **(author shudders. sorry...if you haven't seen a tv show then you wouldn't get it. shivers some more.)**

Sonic stretched his legs. "Are we going to fight yet?"

"Faker. Do you have to be so impatient?"

"Yes."

Shadow groaned on the inside. But before he could answer, Amy pulled out her hammer.

"Enough chatter. I want to smash the person who stole my family from me!" **(be honest. You saw this coming.)**

Mistress threw back her head. "You have no idea what you're getting yourselves into."

Rouge scowled at the lion girl. "Kids...stay put."

"WHAT?" Arnold did not look happy...nor did any other members of second generation.

"Listen to your mother," Knuckles replied evenly.

Sonic just smiled. "Let's do it, to it!" **(sorry. I couldn't resist...it's one of my favorite lines.)**

Um...I'm not sure how to say this nicely.

**(OW! that was DW hitting me then yelling at me to get on with it.)**

Well...first generation was stuck in emeralds for the past two years so of course their out of practice, but seriously, give them some credit. They did okay- **(OW! That was Nikki hitting me and saying they were horrible. But how do you know if you were unconscious? OW! WOULD YOU TWO STOP THAT!?)** They did decent for the first fight in two years.

Sonic did his normal, running in circles, and spin-dashing. Knuckles tried to pound the heck out of the lion girl. Over the battle we had Rouge and Tails diving down and being very annoying. Then there was Amy who...well you can picture that pretty easily.

Well...they lasted about two minutes. Yeah...even though Missy wasn't using Arianna's power and abilities, she still had some tricks up her sleeve. First trick: she could turn...transparent **(for those of you who are Marvel kids, it's what Vision can do. For those of you who are DC kids, it's what the Marsian guy can do...his name slipped my mind. I think it's called Phasing? Not positive...) **Every time Knuckles (or anyone else for that matter) tried to punch or kick her, he just passed right through. Second trick: she played dirty.

Through her phasing through people she managed to get Knuckles and Rouge to knock each other out...don't ask how. It's hard to explain... After those two were out for the count, Missy grabbed Sonic and literally threw him across the clearing...and managed to break his leg at the same time. Amy got mad and attempted to pound the lion , but ended up getting phased through, her hammer stolen, and used against her. The hammer was then turned on Tails who, let's face it, is useless without a plane or some sort of gadget. **(I don't hate Tails. He's one of my favorites, but seriously. He's kind of pointless without a plane or gun. Think of Unleashed...that clip scene was just embarrassing...what happened to the original Tail's who could actually do a spinning homing attack thing?)**

The fox fell to the ground, not quite unconscious, but not quite conscious either.

After that pathetic display, Arnold just looked at Shadow in confusion. "Um...they aren't usually like this, right?"

The hedgehog shrugged. "They were in an emerald for a few years...so, no."

"Okay, just checking."

Annie pulled out a hammer. "Can we try now?"

Shadow pondered that question with some amusement. "I don't see why not?"

Jr jumped up in joy. "Great! Annie let's go!" He raced off.

"Excited little one." Arnold sighed then charged at Missy. He threw one punch then stumbled when she phased right through him.

_"You'd think he'd learn..." _Shadow thought amusingly.

The echidna, unlike his father, actually thought. He lunged forward like he was about to punch the girl but then pulled back at the last second. Twisting down ward, he crouched down and swung his leg, sweeping the surprised Missy off her feet.

After she hit the ground, almost immediately, Annie threw one of her exploding hammers. Missy was thrown backwards, while Arnold back flipped clear of the blast.

The lioness got up dazed, but suddenly found herself facing the kicks and punches of a certain bat. Topaz punched, kicked, and scratched at the stunned...thing. But too soon, Missy recovered and fought back.

Claw to claw, the two girls fought like animals **(Oh wait...OW! What did I say about hitting me!?) **Meanwhile, Jr was still running in circles.

"Jr! What are you waiting for? A robot to fall out of the sky?!" Annie pulled out another hammer and threw it. This one sent out an electrifying shock on impact. Topaz managed to avoid the electrifying hammer by a mere milliseconds, while Mistress was caught in the small bubble. She screamed in pain and dropped to her knees.

The blue blur jr was not happy. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you? And I'm a bit confused. First she was a spirit, then smoke, then goo, now a person. Why is that?"

"NOT NOW JR!" The entire second generation yelled.

"Sorry! I'm just saying!" the young boy yelled back. He spin dashed directly at Missy, who promptly yelped and dodged several times from the attack.

As for Cosmo and Miley... Miley was flying above the battle field with her twin guns. She shot a stunning shot at the lion every chance she got. Most of them hit their target, but some missed, but only by inches.

Meanwhile, Cosmo was attending to Sonic's leg.

"OW! I thought you knew how to do this!?"

"I do! Now stop fidgeting, and maybe I can fix it properly!" the fox was the only member of second generation who actually had had in depth medical classes.

Back to the fight. After all the success, of course something bad happened. Missy caught hold of Topaz and swung her around. The poor bat went flying, and crashed into her brother. The two moaned on the ground in pain. Annie pulled out her normal hammer and attempted to smash the spirit, but found the same result as her mother. But this time, Mistress grabbed the pink hedgehog's hammer by the mallet, then swung the poor girl up. Annie went flying, hammer and all, directly into Miley. Jr, not being the smartest boy ever, tried to catch his sister and teammate, but ended up getting crushed by both of them. The three of them, groaned and moaned in pain as well.

**(pauses to calm DW down from laughing her head off. Oh Jr...)**

Shadow stood off to the side and shook his head._ "I'm gone for two months and this is the result..."_ He glared at Mistress.

She smiled back...and then the two began to circle around the clearing. Mistress just continued to smile her creepy smile. "So...let's see if you fair better than last time..."

Shadow just growled at her. Then they sprang forward. Everyone who was partially conscious would tell in years to come, that it was one of the scariest fights they'd ever seen. Punching, kicking, chaos control, phasing, and every other fighting technique that they could pull out.

For those of you who are wondering where Arianna is; she's on the ground crying...and you can't blame her...she just went through one of the most, if not the most, traumatizing event in her life.

Shadow and Missy literally destroyed the clearing...afterwards, everyone was shocked no one had died from collateral damage. The ruins were ruined **(Ow...again. Nicole hit me for that. something about how dumb that sounded)** and the forest was getting shredded pretty badly.

The hedgehog kicked the lion back...hard. Missy went flying then hit the ground, unmoving.

Jr sat up partially, "Is she dead? Please say yes..." he fell down on his face again.

Shadow walked over and peered down at Mistress. "I don't-"

Missy opened her eyes, swung around her legs, and threw the hedgehog onto the ground. She grabbed him by the shoulder then flipped him down. After that, she swung him into the forest. The sound of crunching branches filled the air, as the black hedgehog was lost from sight.

Missy smiled. "That was actually amusing..." She marched over to a cringing Arianna. "Hello, my sweet..."

Ari whimpered softly. She tried to hide under her arms, but Missy just reached down and picked her up by the arm. Almost easily, the lion lifted the girl off the ground. Ari began to kick half-heartedly. "Please...don't hurt them..."

"Oh...I wouldn't dream of it...you on the other hand..."

Ari turned a shade paler...if that was possible. Fortunately for her, someone decided to step in.

Several chaos spears flew and Mistress let go of the hedgehog while crying out in pain. Ari dropped like a stone.

"Don't...touch...her...ever...again," Nicole growled. The hedgehog had woken up just in time to see Missy threaten Arianna. And she was not happy.

Mistress growled then pounced. The following fight **was** the scariest fight that most of second generation had seen. Once again, punches and kicks, but also guns and chaos moves that they had only heard about. Nicole made a literal sword out of chaos energy and used that to fight...defiantly not a normal fight.

Of course something bad happened. Nicole threw the sword at Missy and missed her by a centimeter. The lion pounced on the hedgehog and they went rolling. When they stood up, Nicole found that Mistress had her favorite gun. Growling, Nicole pounced at the annoying spirit thing. What happened next...well no one is entirely sure. All anyone knows is that one second the two girls were fighting, the next thing everyone knew, Nikki was on the ground with a broken arm. Missy placed her foot on top of the hedgehog.

"I win." She pointed the said hedgehog's own gun at her.

Off to the side, Miley sat up and looked around. She stared in shock then screamed.

A gun shot rang out.

Nicole's POV:

I closed my eyes and heard Miley scream. The sound of a gun going off filled my ears. I laid there for who knows how long then slowly opened my eyes. Missy stood there above me with a shocked expression on her face. Slowly, she dropped my gun, then collapsed on to the ground.

I moved my head as much as I could without hurting my pain-throbbing arm.

Arianna was standing there with shaking hands. The hands held a very familiar gun. My sister stared in horror at Missy then dropped the gun and took a few steps backwards. She stumbled and fell into the arms of...was that Shadow?

I blinked several times in shock, but the image just grew clearer.

Over to my left, Missy turned back into that ooze. Very slowly, I stood up, careful not to hurt my arm. After that, I summoned my chaotic abilities and floated the two pieces of the cursed bracelet. It flew over and came to a rest about three feet in front of me. The ooze began to glow a dark purple as I combined the two. One flash of evil light later, the bracelet was once again whole. The red ruby shone in anger. With the last of my strength I teleported the bracelet to some unknown location, so no one, not even me, knew where that bracelet laid.

After that I blacked out.

I came to and found myself lying in a very familiar laboratory. It was a little trashed and a little dusty, but it had that home feeling. I looked down at my arm. It had been casted snugly and was actually a little more comfortable than expected.

I heard the door behind me creak open. Slowly, I turned around.

Doctor Martha Anderson smiled at me. "Well look who finally decided to wake up."


	30. Chapter 30

**AHH! Last Chapter! Can you believe it? I can't... Okay.**

**TheRealOTC: Thanks.**

**Christian Ape99: You'll have to see and it's not the next sequel, but the one after that.**

**DylanDamboise321: Thanks...I hope you enjoy the end and continue to read the stories.**

Narrator's POV: (Because I can)

Nicole looked at her caretaker in shock and relief. "I'm so glad your not dead."

Martha smiled. "Me too...and guess who's also not dead?" The scientist stepped aside as Shadow walked into the room.

Several emotions played through everyone's mind. The main one was joy. Nicole jumped up and literally ran like the wind to her mentor. She threw her arms around him and gave him one of the tightest hugs of his life. After realizing what she was doing, Nikki stood up straight and awkwardly looked down at the floor.

"Um...sorry. I'm just glad your not dead..."

The ebony hedgehog looked down at his pupil. "I'm glad your not dead too...although if you had focused better than you wouldn't be in that cast."

Nicole attempted to punch her mentor, but he grabbed her and held her down. "Don't even think about it."

The girl tried to growl in anger, but it turned into laughter pretty quickly.

Anderson looked at the two in pure joy. _"I made you to help others true, but I also made you to help someone who needs you just as much as you need them." _Martha had uttered those words to Nicole only two years ago, but she had meant them for so much longer. Because even Shadow need a family...whether he knew it or wanted one.

While she was pondering the success of her experiment, Shadow had released Nicole and was having her explain anything that the other children may have held back from him. After finding nothing big or extraordinary, he motioned for her to sit down. "We need to talk." The hedgehog pointedly glared at Martha until she got the message.

Anderson nodded to Shadow then smiled at Nikki. "I'll see you later, okay?" She walked out of the room.

Silence followed after the doctor's exit. Nicole played with her watch awkwardly, waiting.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Shadow began.

"I'm worried...about Arianna." He paused, and looked at Nicole. Rather rushed he continued, "And I'm a little worried about you. Mistress got in your heads and planted seeds in your heads. Some of those thoughts...are not things you want in your head. I've already started therapy with Arianna...and we've made little progress."

Nicole almost laughed at the idea of Shadow in a chair with a note book and helping people with physiological fears. _Almost._ "So...you want me to do therapy?"

The mentor shook his head. "No...I have something else in mind. But I need to think about it a little longer. But until then, I have to ask you to drop out of Team Sonic-"

"WHAT?"

"-for a few months at the most. Not permanently. You belong on that team...but I need you to heal a little from an experience like that."

Nicole calmed down a little. "So...it's not permanent?"

"No...it's temporary. Arianna on the other hand..." he trailed off. "I don't think she will be able to fight anymore. It's just too traumatizing."

Silence followed. Nicole took a breath. "So...no Team Sonic for a little while. Anything else?"

"First Generation is debating if they should cancel Second Gen."

"THEY CAN'T DO THAT!" Nikki jumped to her feet. "That team has changed lives. We saved the world and...we're older than when they started!"

Shadow smiled slightly. Maybe he and Nicole had more in common than he thought. All of those points were the exact ones he had thought up. "I know...and I'm against it, but it's up to the other teens to convince their parents."

Nicole pondered this fact for sometime. Then she slowly smiled. "Then I think we'll be okay..." She looked down at the cast. "Can I heal this now?"

Shadow groaned slightly. "If you want, but it's going to hurt-"

"-hurt like crazy I know. But it will leave after a few minutes." She gently pulled of the cast. "Do you have a chaos emerald?"

Very reluctantly, the hedgehog pulled out the red emerald. He watched very painfully Nicole quickly heal the bone. The girl screamed slightly, but a few seconds later she stopped. Moaning slightly, she leaned against her mentor. Shadow held her gently, not wanting to disturb the young girl. He thought about the journey he was about to send her on and winced slightly. The pain that would follow, was nothing compared to the pain she was feeling right then. But it had to be done...

The hedgehog stared out the GUN facility window and watched the sun begin to set.

A short time later, Team Sonic was in a heavy debate. Knuckles and Annie were against keeping 2nd generation, while Sonic and Rouge were supporting it. Tails just stood off to the side in a neutral stance. Shadow stood next to him in his normal brooding attitude.

"They're too young!"

"Most of them are 17 years old! I was 10 when I started fighting Egghead."

"That's different!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

Miley leaned over to Jr. "Sound familiar?"

The blue hedgehog blinked blankly back. "Um...no."

Rolling her eyes, Miley leaned back into her chair. All of second generation were in the room and all of them were extremely bored. When Nikki and Shadow had entered, all of them had hoped that their caretaker for the past two years would defend them, but were very disappointed when Shadow didn't do anything. That only meant one thing from the old hedgehog, _"Your problem, not mine. You fix it, not me."_

So there they were, sitting in a conference room and listening to Sonic and Amy yelling at each other for the past five minutes. Knuckles and Rouge were having a very hushed argument across the room, which no one was able to hear over the two fighting hedgehogs.

After another five minutes, Miley stood up and yelled at the top of her lungs. "QUIET! ALL OF YOU! STOP ARGUING AND COME TO AN AGREEMENT!" She sat down in a very huffed manner. Nicole chuckled under her breath when all of first gen looked confused and a bit surprised when the usual quiet and shy fox yelled at them.

Tails took that as his que. "Right! So...what are we going to do?"

No one said anything for quite sometime. Finally Shadow spoke up. "Why don't we let the teens decide their own futures?"

Everyone turned and stared at him. The black and red hedgehog squirmed slightly under all of the stares. "What? It only makes sense!"

Finally, Sonic nodded slightly. "That's actually not a bad idea Shads."

"Don't call me that."

Sonic ignored him and turned to his children. "What do you kids want?"

The twins exchanged a look, then Jr began. "Um...well...Me and Annie-"

"Annie and I."

"Whatever! Annie and I want to stay on board. We...um..."

Annie picked up the sentence from there. "We want to do this. Besides, someone has to make sure you six don't die again."

The girl got glare from first generation, but she didn't even flinch. "Sorry, but I've seen worse." The twins fell silent.

Cosmo spoke up next. "Sorry guys, but I've caused enough violence in my life time. No more robots for me. I'm going to medical school. You all really need a nurse." She smiled. "Besides...I'm not a very good pilot."

Miley nodded at that comment.

Slowly, Arnold stood up and faced his father. "I-I-I-...I am not going to be the guardian. I'm sorry! Really I am! Maybe one day I can do it, but right now I want adventure. I can't just waist my life on Angel Island. So...I'm staying here. GUN seems like the best place to start." The echidna looked over at Annie. "Among other reasons..."

Topaz smiled. "And I would be happy to volunteer in take Arnold's place. You know how much I love gems." The bat smiled and batted her eyes at her father and mother.

Knuckles pondered the proposition for a moment then nodded slowly. "I don't see why not..."

Topaz twirled in a circle then sat down.

"But..."

The bat frowned along with Arnold.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

The siblings almost fell out of their chairs in shock.

While those two pulled their thoughts together, Shadow stepped forward. "Arianna will not be continuing in Team Sonic. Any questions?"

No one decided to ask anything.

Sonic rubbed his hands together. "So it's decided. Annie, Jr, Arnold, and partially Topaz will continue in second generation. Cosmo will be going to medical school and Ari will be...doing something peaceful. So if that's all, can I go-"

"um...Dad?" Annie looked at her father.

"What is it Annie?"

The pink hedgehog drew in a breath. "What about Miley and Nicole. I know they weren't originally included, but...I think they've proven themselves. Don't you all?" She aimed the question at the other teens. They immediately nodded and agreed.

Sonic, some what confused and surprised, shrugged. "Okay then. Miley, what do you want?"

The fox immediately jumped up and almost screamed. "I want to stay!" She then realized what she'd done and shrunk back a little. "If that's okay with you..." she mumbled.

Jr ran over and slung his arm over her shoulder. "Well, I think I can handle a mini fox."

"Hey!"

The whole team burst out laughing as Miley jumped on Jr and began to tickle him. He yelped and ran away from the girl. After everyone had calmed down, every hedgehog, bat, echidna, and fox in the room turned and stared at Nicole.

She looked over at Shadow, then took a deep breath. "I will not be joining you for a little bit."

All of second gen stared at her in shock. "What?" Miley cried.

"It's just temporary. I'll come back, really I promise, but I need to...clear my head, I guess you could say."

Shadow jumped in before anyone else could comment. "Okay, so there's the plan. Now who want's to be the overseer of these trouble makers?"

Very slowly, Sonic gave his signature smirk. "Well...I was thinking since you have connections in GUN and you've actually handled them for the past two years that you should do it."

"Absolutely-"

The hedgehog stopped with one look at the teens. They were staring at him expectantly and almost...hopeful. Nicole just smiled and summoned her chaotic energy.

_"You've grown on them. Take the job, or I will never forgive you."_

Shadow remained in his mood on the outside, but unbeknownst to everyone, he was smiling on the inside. The joy he felt was indescribable, but it was perfect. But on the outside, he just folded his arms and grumbled, "-Fine."

Sonic looked a bit surprised, but he was also pleased. "Okay then...anything else?"

After a few seconds the hedgehog sighed. "Good, because I owe someone a run." Jr glanced at his Dad.

"Oh you are so on!" The two speedsters raced out.

Amy and Annie rolled their eyes in unison, then left with the two bats to go make a picnic dinner.

Arnold and Knuckles went to have a private chat...on Angel Island.

Cosmo, Miley, and Tails left without a word. No doubt they were going to check on the old machine shop.

Nicole and Shadow were left in the room all alone.

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Nikki finally spoke up. "So...what do I do?"

Shadow looked at her and felt his joy begin to fade. "You...are going on a trip."

"A trip? To where?"

"The question isn't where-" he pulled out the chaos emerald and held it out. "Remember, you can't change the past, but you can impact the future."

"Umm...what?"

"You'll figure it out. CHAOS CONTROL!"

"WAI-" Nicole's shout of protest was cut off by the flash of light. When the light cleared, Shadow stood alone in the room.

He stared at where Nikki had just stood seconds before. "I'm sorry..."

Arianna crept in quietly, "Who are you talking too?"

"No one...no one..." Shadow turned to the clone. "How are you?"

The girl looked at the floor. "How do you think?"

Shadow sighed softly. "Get some sleep. We'll talk tomorrow." He walked out of the door leaving the broken girl alone.

Arianna sighed sadly, then sat on the table. She hummed the chorus to a song that Nicole had sang to her years ago.

Song: Hurry up and Save me

Artist: Tiffany Giardina

_Hurry Up and Save Me_

_Hurry Up and Save Me_

_Hurry Up and Save Me_

_Hurry Up and Save Me_

_I just want to feel alive_

_And I do when I'm-_

She cut off and looked at the floor...then promptly burst to tears.

**OH MY CHAOS! I finished! I finished! AHHHHH! I am so happy!**

**DW: Well I'm not! Ari! *almost starts crying***

**Me: She'll be fine, don't worry. Okay, final reviews for this story... I can't wait to see your reactions. Tell me what you liked and what you didn't like. I hope you all enjoyed it and I'll start on the sequel ASAP. Thank you all! I hope you continue the story! AHHHHHHH!**

**DW: What's the sequel again?**

**Me: It's about what happened to Nicole and where Shadow sent her.**

**DW: Where?**

**Me: Not exactly where...now stop spoiling everything! Thanks y'all! The sequel is already being posted. It's called 'Shadows of the Past." Just click on my profile link, and you'll find it pretty quick. Hope you all read it!**


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